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The 20th Century 
Toolsmith and Steelworker 



A COMPI,ETE, PRACTICAI,, AND SCIENTIFIC BOOK, WRITTEN 
BY A THOROUGH EXPERT MECHANIC AND STEEI.- 
WORKER, ESPECIAI,I,Y IN THE INTERESTS 
OF BI^ACKSMITHS, TOOI^SMITHS, TOOI<- 
MAKERS, AND AI.1^ MECHANICS 
CONNECTED DIRECTl^Y OR IN- 
DIRECTI^Y WITH THE USE, 
REPAIR, AND MANU- 
FACTURE OF STEEI, 
INTO TOOI.S 



FULLY ILLUSTRATED 



By m holford 




CHICAGO 

FREDERICK J. DRAKE & CO., PUBLISHERS 

1908 



Copyright 1912 

BY 

Frederick J. Draki 
Chicago 



(gCI.A332083 







PREFACE 



This book is written in the interests of all. mechanics 
connected with the working and manufacture of steel 
into tools, and gives all the secrets and obstacles to be 
overcome towards making steelwork or toolmaking a 
success. It will be invaluable to the young mechanic 
and place him years in advance of his fellow workman, 
by the reading and a little reflection of its contents. 

It is not comprised of quack theories or foolish ideas, 
and is not written by a college student, who knows 
nothirrg except what he has been told or gathered up 
from papers and periodicals. But is written by a thor- 
ough expert mechanic who has spent the best part of 
his life over the anvil with the hammer and tongs and 
making tools of every description, from steel of every 
quality and temper and almost every brand or make, 
and the contents of this book are the results of hard 
work, deep study, years of experimenting and wide 
travel. The information given is of a simple, practical, 
and scientific nature, which can be easily understood 
and everything accomplished by a mechanic of average 
intelligence. 

It gives full and complete instructions with illustra- 

3 



4 PREFACE 

tions, how to forge, weld, anneal, harden and temper, 
every tool that the toolsmith or toolmaker is called 
upon to make or repair, and if the directions are fol- 
lowed closely, this book will be the means of lifting a 
great many out of a rut of darkness and place them on 
the road of sunshine to mechanical success, as this in- 
formation could not be gained in a lifetime in the ordi- 
nary blacksmith shop or from the steel manufacturer. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction o Pages 11 to 14 

CHAPTER I. 

Steel, its use and necessity in all arts, trades and profes- 
sions — The composition of cast tool steel — The suc- 
cessful treatment of steel — Heating — Forging — Ham- 
mering — Hardening — The hardening bath — Quench- 
ing — Tempering — Welding — Annealing — Differ- 
ent kinds of steel — The cracking of tools when hard- 
ening and the cause — How to judge hard from soft 
steel — How to tell good from poor steel — Testing 
steel after hardening, with a file — Instructions on 

toolmaking that have to be given many times 

Pages 15 to 31 

CHAPTER II. 

The blaeksmith^s fire — Bellows and blowers — The anvil — 
Tongs — Fullers and swages — Flatters and set ham- 
mer — The hammer — Making and dressing a hand 
hammer — Haraening and tempering a hammer — Suc- 
cessful points to be remembered in making and tem- 
pering a hammer — Punching holes in steel . Pages 32 to 55 

CHAPTER III. 

The cold chisel — The hardy — Heavy hot, cold and rail- 
road chisels — Drills and drilling — Making a flat drill 
— Hand made twist drills — Making a twist reamer. . 

Pages 56 to 72 
5 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER IV. 



How to draw out, harden and temper an axe that will 
cleave a hemlock knot — Mill picks — Butcher knives — 
How to make gun, revolver, trap and all fine springs 
— ^Dirt picks — Laying dirt picks Pages 73 to 89 



CHAPTER V. 

Machinists tools — Air hardening steel for lathe and planer 
tools — How to anneal air hardening steel — Milling 
cutters — The use of asbestos and clay when harden- 
ing milling cutters and other tools — Hardening hol- 
low tools — The hardening and tempering of hob 
taps, stay bolt taps ana similar tools — Heating fur- 
naces — Heated lead for hardening purposes — Boiler- 
makers' tools — The beading tool — Punches and dies 
• — Flue expanders — Drifts, rivet snaps, calking tools 
and chisels — Hardening shear blades. . . .Pages 90 to 115 



CHAPTER VI. 

Woodworkers' and carpenters' tools — Laying a carpenter's 
chisel — The screw driver — How to make a draw 
knife Pages 116 to 121 



CHAPTER VIL 

Granite cutters' tools — The granite drill — Bull sets and 
bull chisels — The granite bush hammer — The granite 
hammer — Granite cutters' mash hammer — The granite 
tool sharpeners' hammer and anvil stake — Marble 
cutters' tools Pages 122 to 130 



CONTENTS 7 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Limestone cutters' tools — Plain and tooth chisels and 
points — Pitching- tool — Hand and ball drills — The 
tooth axe — The limestone bush hammer — Sandstone 
cutters' tools — Stone carvers' tools — Polishing board 
for stonecutters' tools — How to forge mallet head 
tools — Punching teeth in stone cutters' tools — Lathe . 
and planer tools for cutting soft stone — Dressing 
tools with the cutting edge bevelled from one side 
only Pages 131 to 145 



CHAPTER IX. 

The stonemason's hammer — Miners' tools — Correct and 
incorrect shapes of miners' hand drills — The cross or 
machine drill — The K^reaking of drills when drilling 
and the cause — The rock cuttiug reamer — Well drills 

Pages 146 to 153 

CHAPTER X. 

Horseshoer's tools — How to make and dress a pair of 
pincers — Making a clinch cutter — How to make a 
horseshoer's knife — How to dress a vise — Sharpen- 
ing plow shares — How to make square holes in plow 
shares Page 154 to 162 



CHAPTER XL 

How to make a harnessmaker's knife — How to make a 
butcher's steel — Hardening tools with five projections 
— The butcher's cleaver — How to dress a railroad 

pinch bar — The spike maul — The claw bar 

Pages 163 to 173 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER XII. 



The bricklayer's set — How to harden and temper wire 
nippers or pliers — How to make a razor — To make 
. a scraper — Hardening jaw of pipe vise — Hardening 
and tempering blacksmith's bolt clipper — Tools for 
punching or gumming cross-cut saws — The scratch- 
awl — Hardening and tempering circular blades of 
pipe cutter — Hardening a tool according to its shape 
— Making, hardening and tempering an alligator pipe 
wrench — Hardening and tempering pruning shear 
blades — The center punch — The nail, set — Hardening 
and tempering steel stamps — Making a gouge — 
Hardening and tempering carpenters' augurs that 
have come through a fire — Case hardening. , 



Pages 174 to 187 



CHAPTER XIIL 



The correct meaning of a cherry red heat — Heating to 
harden according to the size of the tool — Charcoal 
for heating steel — The sealing of steel after harden- 
ing — Quality and quantity — Quick methods of work- 
ing — Cracks in steel — Slighting tools — The result of 
being a successful steelworker — Hardening tools that 
are forged by another mechanic — Sayings and ideas 
of mechanics in reference to steel — Why some tools 
are soft when put into use — Reasons why tools break 
when in use — Necessary tools — Welding compounds 
— Hardening compounds — How to determine the tem- 
per of tools — Overheating tools — Cutting steel when 
cold — Oil tempering — Drawing the temper over the 
open or blacksmith's fire — More points on hammer- 
ing steel — How to improve — The blacksmith's helper 
— The danger of heating more of a tool when dress- 
ing, than what is to be forged or hammered — Harden- 
ing very small or thin tools — More information about 



CONTENTS 9 

cold chisels — The different degrees of temperature 
Fahrenheit required to equal the various colors when 
drawing the temper in hot air or oil — Table of ordi- 
nary tools made from cast steel, arranged alphabeti- 
cally, giving the color of temper and about the per- 
centage of carbon the steel should contain to give the 
best results — Table of tools continued, which are 
partly or wholly hardened but have no temper drawn 
— Working steel at night — A few words in reference 
to burnt steel — Conclusion Pages 188 to 229 

Useful Formulas Pages 230 to 240 



INTRODUCTION 



In introducing this book to my readers and brother 
mechanics, it has long been my aim to bring this volume 
of information before the steehvorkers and toolmakers 
in general and to present it in a clear simple way that 
the average mechanic will quite readily understand. 
Although there are other books written and published 
on this great subject of steelworking, the information 
which they contain is not expressed in a clear light that 
is beneficial to the ordinary reader, for unless the 
reader is already an expert steelworker the book is not 
easily understood without a great deal of thought and 
study, as some authors oppose their own ideas, others 
again do not take up the entire subject and the in- 
formation which is most profitable to the young me- 
chanic and also which is most impressive on his mind 
is left unwritten. 

But this book which is entitled, The 20th Century 
Toolsmith and Steelworker, will give fully all the in- 
formation and knowledge of working steel in a clear 
light so that the young mechanic or apprentice will 
readily improve, if he will but read. The methods given 
and used as regards the working of steel, are of the 
most modern, simple, practical, and scientific nature, 

11 



12 INTRODUCTION 

while the instructions are from the experience of a suc- 
cessful steelworker of good reputation, and who has 
spent years in hard work, ranging in extent from the 
humble country blacksmith shop to the largest and best 
railroad, locomotive and machine shops, also stone 
yards, quarries and mines of North America, which is 
the only correct way of gathering together the vast 
amount of knowledge contained in these pages and 
which has cost the author thousands of dollars in wide 
travel and collecting valuable ideas from some of the 
greatest living mechanics and steelworkers that Amer- 
ica has produced. 

Although this book is chiefly intended for black- 
smiths, toolsmiths and tooldressers, it will be found in- 
valuable to every mechanic connected directly or indi- 
rectly with the repair and manufacture of steel into 
tools, and if the directions are followed closely, the 
amateur steelworker will become an expert of the high- 
est degree, as there is nothing mentioned, but that 
which has been accomplished by the author and proven 
by experiment to be the greatest success. 

This book is not merely written for the young me- 
chanic or apprentice, but likewise for the old, and it 
does not signify if the reader has worked over the anvil 
for forty years, there is information that will help him 
overcome difficulties and obstacles connected with steel. 

Although the instructions given are principally in 
reference to heating steel in the blacksmiths or open 
fire and which is mostly used, this book gives informa- 



INTRODUCTION 13 

tion concerning heating and tempering furnaces. But, 
it should be remembered that if a mechanic can work 
steel by heating it successfully in the open fire, he will 
experience very little trouble when heating steel in a 
furnace or lead bath as used in large and up-to-date 
toolshops and factories. 

I wish to say to all mechanics young and old but 
more so to the young mechanics who have a desire to 
reach the top of the ladder and gain a good reputation, 
and especially to those who chance to get a copy of this 
book, that the greatest obstacle they have to contend 
with when trying to improve, is to change from the rut 
they have already fallen into, chiefly made by them- 
selves and the teachings of their first masters. I state 
this from experience, and to illustrate fully after I 
knew my trade (or ''served my time," is a' more rea- 
sonable way of explaining), having plenty of confi- 
dence and a great share jof conceit in my abilities, I 
started out as a journeyman blacksmith, ''and then" 
I found out I had something to learn. But I found out 
that to change my ways and ideas was quite a difficult 
task and often got me in hot water, as I thought my 
way or rather the way I was taught by my first boss 
was correct. However, I soon decided that if I wanted 
to climb to the top of mechanical success and have a 
good reputation, I would have to change my ideas if 
I thought some other shop mate had an idea or method 
that was superior to mine, keep my eyes open, and do 
a great deal of thinking in my "own" mind. 



W INTRODUCTION 

And if I could have had this book at th© close of my 
apprenticeship, it would have saved me many a trouble- 
some job, many a long hour of study, a great deal of 
experimenting, large sums of money and placed me 
years in advance of the present times. And so I wish 
to say to the reader, although he may have some good 
ideas that perhaps are equal to the author's, while on 
the other hand he may have some not as good, read this 
book carefully from beginning to end, and follow its 
advice and he will be crowned with success, as a poor 
mechanic or Jack of all trades is not wanted in these 
days, where there is as much competition for the me- 
chanic's job as there is between business men in any 
mercantile business. And again, I say to the mechanic 
read this book carefully, follow the instructions closely, 
and you will hold your job and take first place. 



CHAPTER I. 

Steel, its use and necessity — Composition — Successful treat- 
ment — Different kinds — The cracking of steel when hard- 
ening and the cause — Judging and testing. 

Steel, Its Use and Necessity in All Arts, Trades and 
Professions. 

We could get along without a great many other ma- 
terials and metals, ' ' but we must have steel, ' ' its great 
necessity comes first in all arts, trades, and professions. 
The doctor or surgeon must have fine lancing knives, 
the dentist must have forceps, and the sculptor must 
have fine chisels. The machinist, boilermaker, stone- 
cutter, bricklayer and the stone mason, must have their 
tools made from steel in order to perform their skillful 
labor, likewise, the king and foundation of all mechan- 
ics, ' ' The Blacksmith, ' ' he must in the first place have 
the anvil, hammers, chisels, fullers, swages, etc., to do 
his own work and make tools for others. 

Our Capitols, government buildings, palaces, cathe- 
drals, the great railroad systems, likewise the defense 
of our country, the navy and its guns, are all brought 
to the stage of perfection, by the use of steel and so 
we can readily see that steel comes first and_ foremost 
of all metals, and the mechanic who is so fortunate as to 
become a good steelworker, is entitled to all konor and 
should be proud of his skill. 

15 



16 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



The Composition of Cast Tool Steel. 

In order to understand this subject fully, it is neces- 
sary to know something pertaining to the manufacture. 
But in a simple way of explaining, cast tool steel is 
chiefly composed of bar or wrought iron, although 
wrought iron is a very useful metal, it is of too soft a 
nature in its natural state for the purpose of tool mak- 
ing. Consequently iron is put through a process by the 
steel manufacturer, and by the use of charcoal the iron 
becomes carbonized and so converted into steel. 

A great deal could be written on the manufacture 
of cast tool steel, as the steel, after being manufac- 
tured may be of good or bad quality and also being of 
different degrees of hardness or temper. The quality 
of the steel depends on the quality of iron used in the 
manufacture, while the hardness of the steel depends 
on the amount of carbon it contains. The temper of 
steel is classed or measured by the percentage of carbon 
in the steel, for example 100 points is equal to 1 per 
cent, to further explain, steel that is right for making 
cold chisels will consist of 75 points carbon, while steel 
used for machinists' lathe or turning tools which is re- 
quired to be much harder will consist of 1 per cent. 

Good cast steel should be manufactured from pure 
Swedish iron and should contain not less than 60 points 
carbon in order that it will readily become (after pass- 
ing through the various processes of the steelworker) 
hard as glass, tough as whalebone and as soft as lead. 
When toolmaking, a good quality of steel should al- 
ways be used, but as to hardness, it will depend on how 
the tool is to be used and what material the tool is to 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 17 

cut or be used upon, also a great deal will depend on 
the skill of the steelworker. 



The Successful Treatment of Steel. 

In the successful treatment of steel lies the founda- 
tion of this book and the toolsmith's art, and with 
which all the following processes that the steel must 
pass through before reaching the finished tool are con- 
nected. Thus: heating, forging, hammering, hard- 
ening, quenching, tempering, welding and annealing. 
These processes all form an equally important part in 
the manufacture of tools, and so to become an expert 
steelworker this subject must be understood by having 
a thorough knowledge regarding the nature of steel, 
together with good judgment, carefulness and skill. 



Heating. 

There are a great many different ways of heating 
steel, although the most common way is in the black- 
smith's coal or open fire, but in the large shops w^heie 
tools are made in great quantities may be found fur- 
naces especially adapted for tool making which are 
heated by oil, gas, etc. 

The heating of steel is somewhat complicated owing 
to the different temperatures that are required (reader, 
give this your particular attentipn as success depends 
on the following), heating may be divided into four 
classes, as the forging heat, the hardening heat, the an- 
nealing heat and the welding heat. But for the benefit 
of the apprentice, I will say the different heats must be 
learnt by experimenting, but to the blacksmith of more 



18 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

or less experience, I will describe the heats of a piece of 
ordinary steel 75 points in carbon (which will answer 
all ordinary purposes), in the following manner, a yel- 
low heat for forging, cherry red for hardening, blood 
red for annealing, and a white heat for welding. 



Forging. 

Forging is the toolsmith's labor which is required to 
bring or change a piece of steel into any shape or form, 
by referring to the forging heat, it is at all times neces- 
sary and beneficial to have a yellow or soft heat, then 
the steel will be worked clear through, and especially 
in heavy forging, but the heat must gradually decrease 
as the tool becomes finished. For example, supposing 
the toolsmith has a piece of steel one inch square and 
it is to be forged down to a chisel shaped point, it is 
heated slowly and evenly to a high or yellow heat, the 
toolsmith and helper forges it into the shape required 
until it is necessary to get another heat, but the second 
heat will not necessarily be so hot as it will be sufficient 
to finish the tool and- the hardest work is over, when 
the steel is finished at a low heat and the last blows 
of the hammer fall on the flat side. The steel is left 
finer and stronger than if finished at a high heat. 



Hammering. 

Hammering steel in the finishing stage is one of the 
greatest secrets of success connected with forging tools, 
it is at all times necessary as it toughens, refines and 
packs the steel, but it is chiefly for tools that have a 
flat surface. On tools that have no flat surface but are 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 19 

either round or square, the blows must naturally fall 
on all sides alike, consequently the steel is left in its 
natural state. But tools that are flat, such as cold 
chisels or mill picks, the last blows say 10 or 15, must 
fall on both flat sides evenly when at a low heat, but 
bear in mind that not a blow is to strike the edge as it 
will knock out all the tenacity that has been put in the 
steel by the blovv^s on the flat surface, and do not ham- 
mer the steel too cold as it will ruin the steel. If the 
hammering is properly done the steel will show a bright 
black gloss. 

Hardening. 

The process for hardening is by heating the steel to a 
certain heat then cooling off sudidenly in water, which 
will immediately change the steel from its soft natural 
state, into that of a hard glasslike state and will show 
a white appearance when coming out of the water. But 
after coming through this operation the steel may be 
properly or improperly hardened, steel that is properly 
hardened is flner and stronger than improperly hard- 
ened steel, and if broken would present a flne crystai- 
ized fracture, while on the other hand, improperly 
hardened steel when broken would present a coarse 
fracture resembling a piece of honeycomb and will 
break very easy. The secret of success for proper 
hardening lies in the heat that is used, the proper heat 
must be found out by experimenting. A good way to 
find out the proper heat, will be, take a small piece of 
steel and on one end put deep nicks in it with a chisel, 
about half an inch apart, say, for three inches back, 
as shown in Figure 1. Now place the end that has th« 
nicks, in the fire and heat the extreme point to a white 



20 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

or welding heat, then plunge into cold water and cool 
off "dead cold." Now place over the anvil, commenc- 
ing at the extreme point that was the hottest and break 
off at the first nick, then the next and so on until all 
is broken, and the results will be as formerly explained. 
The first piece when broken will show a coarse, hard 
and very brittle fracture being very easy to break, and 
as the other pieces are broken the fracture will be no- 
ticed to be getting finer and harder to break until the 



mnm 



Fig. 1. Showing piece of steel for hardening test. 

one is come to showing a fine crystallized fracture re- 
sembling a piece of glass. Another way to find out 
the proper heat for hardening will be to have 3 or 4 
thin flat pieces of steel, heat them to different heats 
then break off taking particular notice of the fracture, 
and how some pieces will break much easier than 
others. 

When hardening steel, always bear in mind to harden 
it at as low a heat as it will be sure to harden at, as 
proper hardening is the gateway of success in making 
tools that have to hold a good cutting edge. 



The Hardening Bath. 

In connection with the hardening of steel the harden- 
ing bath forms a very important part and which should 
not be overlooked. It consists chiefly of water, which 
must be clean and free from all oily or greasy sub- 



TOOLSMITH AND STEEL WORKER 21 

stance. "Water containing any greasy substance of any 
kind will not act so quickly or as satisfactory as clear, 
clean water. Rain or soft water is preferred to hard 
well water, but salt put in the water to form a brine is 
still better, as steel will harden at a lower heat in brine 
than in the ordinary pure water and this is a point to 
be well considered, so keep as much salt in the water 
as it will dissolve or soak up. Still another advantage 
by the use of brine is that it will not steam up so 
quickly as water and this is also worthy of thought 
when hardening large tools. At all times keep the bath 
as large and as cold as possible. 



Quenching. 

In the quenching or cooling of steel during the hard- 
ening process, a great deal is to be learned, as some- 
times the tool is liable to warp when being quenched, 
in some cases so bad as to spoil or crack the tool, while 
the cause will occur from improper quenching, as a 
great deal depends according to the way the tool is 
placed in the water or hardening bath, and also accord- 
ing to the shape of the tool. 

Some tools must cut the water as a knife, others 
again must thrust it as a dagger, and some at one 
angle, some at another. For example, take a round 
piece of steel 6 inches long and % thick, and it is to be 
hardened the whole length of itself. After heating, it 
will have to be lowered into the bath from a perfectly 
upright position, if it has been properly forged, heated, 
and annealed, it will come from the water perfectly 
straight, but should it be placed in the water from an 



22 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

angular position it will be very apt to warp. Wide flat 
tools, whether partly or wholly hardened should be 
quenched in a perfectly upright position or they will 
warp flatwise. 

Tempering'. 

After hardening the steel it will be too hard for 
some purposes, and so the hardness must be reduced by 
reheating it to a certain degree according to the work 
it is to do, which is ^^ termed" tempering. If a piece 
of hardened steel be polished bright, then reheated, dif- 
ferent colors will appear and change as the steel be- 
comes heated to a greater degree. The colors will ap- 
pear in their turn as follows, commencing with the least 
degree of heat will be a light straw, dark straw, copper, 
red, purple, dark blue, light blue and grey, and by 
watching the colors the steelworker regulates the tem- 
per or hardness of the tool. 

Tempering is the process that will readily change 
steel from its hardened glass like state into an elastic 
springy nature resembling whalebone. For illustra- 
tion, take a thin piece of steel 3 inches long, % inch 
wide, 1-16 thick, after hardening the whole piece from 
end to end then tempering to a very light blue and 
allowing it to cool off on its own accord, it will be 
found to be in a very elastic state and if bent it would 
immediately come back straight again. Tempering 
should not be classed as hardening or vice versa, as is 
often the case with a great many mechanics. For ex- 
ample, a tool that is to be only hardened and no tem- 
per drawn, should be classed as hardened, ''and not 
tempered. ' ' 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 23 



Welding. 

Welding is the process or art of joining two pieces 
of steel together so as to form one solid piece, and 
which forms a very important part in steel working 
or toolmaking. There are several errors made when 
welding steel, some of the most common ones being, the 
want of the proper knovvdedge concerning the nature of 
steel, a green or unclean fire containing sulphur and 
other foreign matter, which is dangerous to hot steel, 
the absence of the proper welding heat, and improper 
ways of uniting the pieces together. For the benefit 
of those who have not had much practice and those who 
have only been partly successful, I will give these in- 
structions, which, if followed closely will insure suc- 
cess. First of all the welding point in the steel that 
is to be welded must be known, as there are several 
kinds of steel, some will require a higher heat to weld 
than others, the heat varying according to the hardness 
of the steel. 

For illustration, we make a weld by uniting two 
pieces of steel together and we have had good success, 
as the weld represents one solid piece. Now we pro- 
ceed to make another weld, and in exactly the same 
way as the first weld, the same welding heat is used and 
the same fire, but this time we do not meet with success 
for as soon as the hot steel is struck with the hammer, 
to form the weld, the steel flies to pieces (I hear the 
reader ask the reason, why), because the steel was 
heated to a higher heat than what the steel would 
stand, and the consequence is, all the labor has been 
lost, the fault lies in not knowing the welding point. 

We could take wrought iron and make every weld at 



24 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

the same heat, but not so with steel, on account of it 
varying in hardness. And so in cases when the me- 
chanic is in doubt as to the hardness or welding point 
in the steel, use this rule. Take a piece of the steel that 
is to be welded, heat it to a yellow heat, then place~it 
over the edge of the anvil and strike it a light blow 
with the hammer, if the steel does not crumble or fall 
to pieces, keep increasing the heat until it does, this 
will enable anyone to test the steel for hardness, and 
so find the welding point or just how high a heat the 
steel will stand before crumbling or flying to pieces 
when making a weld. 

But although the welding heat is well understood, 
there are other things to consider, as we must have a 
clean fire with the coal well charred and all gas, sul- 
phur, clinkers, ashes, etc., must be taken from the 
fire, to insure a solid weld. Welding is more fully ex- 
plained in another chapter of the book, as, in dirt 
picks. 

Annealing. 

The chief object of annealing steel is to soften it, 
the process being almost opposite to that of hardening. 
In hardening, the steel is cooled off very quickly, but 
in annealing, the steel is cooled very slowly. Steel to 
anneal must be heated in somewhat the same manner 
as to harden, with the exception that the annealing 
heat must not exceed the proper hardening heat, a 
little less heat will be best, for example a blood red. 

The advantage to be gained by annealing steel is to 
make it soft, in order that it may be easily filed, turned, 
or planed. Without annealing some steel will be too 
hard for the machinist's use, tools that are forged by 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 25 

the toolsmith and finished by a machinist should al- 
ways be annealed, and in a great many cases the steel 
must be annealed when it comes from the manufac- 
turer, before it can be worked satisfactorily. 

There are many ways to anneal, but the method that 
is commonly used, is by taking a piece of steel heated 
to the heat previously mentioned, and packed deep into 
slack lime allowing it to remain there until perfectly 
cold. Wood ashes may be used in place of slack lime, 
but they should be perfectly dry and free from all 
dampness. Fine dry sawdust is also very good, but it 
should be kept in an iron box in case the sawdust 
catches fire. 

There is another good way to anneal and which is 
very often preferred on account that it is much quicker. 
Take a piece of steel heated as mentioned. Then hold 
it in a dark place long enough, so that the heat will 
all pass off, save a dim dull red. Then plunge into 
water to cool off. This is called the water anneal, and 
some machinists say that tools take a better hold of it. 
If the process was right the steel will come from the 
water resembling a piece of hardened steel, showing a 
black and white appearance by being partly scaled 
off. This method, however, may need a little experi- 
menting before getting the best results. Points on an- 
nealing will be found in other parts of the book. 

Different Kinds of Steel. 

There are many kinds, grades, and brands of steel 
which vary in shape, quality, and hardness, according 
to the tool that is to be made from it and which the 
ordinary blacksmith is not familiar with. Steel used 
in the blacksmith shop does not take in such a wide 



26 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

range as that used in a large machine shop, as steel 
of 75 points carbon will answer all purposes in the 
blacksmith shop, but in the machine shop steel is used 
of a much higher carbon, ranging up to 100 points or 
1 per cent and even higher. High carbon steel is used 
chiefly for making lathe and planer tools, which has 
been found out by practical experience to be prefer- 
able owing greatly to the reason, that these tools do 
their v/ork by steady pressure. Should a cold chisel 
be made from high carbon steel, say 1 per cent, the 
head of the chisel would be continually breaking and 
splitting off. High carbon steel is more difficult to 
weld and will harden at a less heat than low carbon 
steel. Tools that are to do their work by striking with 
a hammer, as a cold chisel, should always be made from 
a medium low carbon steel. But in these days, steel can 
be had in any shape or temper to suit any tool, so when 
ordering steel from the manufacturer always state what 
kind of tools the steel is to be used for. The percentage 
of carbon which the steel should contain for different 
tools will be fully explained throughout the book, as 
each tool is described. 

The Cracking of Tools When Hardening and the Cause. 

The cracking of tools during the hardening process, 
is one of the great obstacles to be overcome by the 
steelworker, and which is the cause of the loss of a 
great amount of expensive tools and labor. 

The primary and main cause for tools cracking when 
hardening, is overheating of the steel, another cause is 
by uneven heating, still another cause will result from 
forging and leaving strains in the steel by irregular 
heating and hammering, and also by improper anneal- 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 27 

ing. Steel that is heated in the blacksmith's fire is 
very liable to crack in hardening, unless great care be 
exercised, and the tendency for the steel to crack will 
be increased, if the mechanic has only a limited amount 
of knowledge as regards the nature and virtue of 
steel. For illustration I will give the way that a great 
many who call themselves steelworkers, harden a piece 
of steel. They will take the piece of steel, place it in 
the fire, then turn on or blow a very strong blast so as 
to heat it quickly, getting one part at a white heat 
while another part is barely red, then plunge it into 
the water any way to cool off, consequently it cracks, 
and the operator blames the steel saying it was no 
good, while he himself was to blame. Laying the 
blame on the steel is the theory of a great many black- 
smiths and steelworkers, especially when the tool does 
not give good satisfaction. But on the other hand, 
should the tool do good v/ork they are ready to take 
all the praise to themselves by telling others about it, 
and I state this from experience as I have been in the 
same position before finding out my mistake. 

Now let us harden a piece of steel properly as it 
should be done, and for example, supposing we have 
a flat piece to be hardened, 2 inches scjuare by i/^ inch 
thick. Place the steel flatways on top of the fire, heat 
slowly and very evenly, turning the steel over occa- 
sionally so as not to heat in streaks, until the whole 
piece becomes heated to a cherry red or just enough to 
harden, then cool edgeways from an upright position, 
in clean cold water allowing it to remain there until it 
is perfectly cold, and it will be perfectly hardened and 
free from all cracks. 

And to more fully illustrate, I will relate a little in- 
cident in my own experience. I took a position as 



1:5 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

toolsmith in one of the large shops of the Chicago, Rock 
Island and Pacific Railroad. The first job I undertook 
to do, was to harden and temper a great number of flat 
thread cutting dies, as I started to work the machinist 
foreman came along and said to me, ''I want you to 
harden these dies without leaving cracks in them." A 
few days after the dies had been in use, I asked him 
if he found any cracks in the dies, and he replied ''no, 
not one." Then he went on and explained to me, that 
the toolsmith who was there before me, was continu- 
ally leaving cracks in the dies and laying the blame 
on the steel saying it was no good, while the dies were 
not giving good satisfaction and at the same time keep- 
ing a machinist busy making new ones and keeping 
others in repair. A few days later the machinist (who 
was keeping the tools in repair) came along to me and 
said, ' ' I am not working much more than half my time 
since you started, as I have not near so many dies to 
keep in repair." Reader, I have not related this af- 
fair to give myself praise, but instead, to point out to 
you the difference between two mechanics and both 
calling themselves toolsmiths, one having very little 
knowledge concerning the nature and working of steel, 
was giving poor satisfaction, spoiling a great many 
tools and resulting in the loss of his position. 

The other had a thorough knowledge of steel in 
every way and did his work in a highly satisfactory 
manner. 

The first man did his work by heating his tools too 
fast, having one part of a tool at a white heat and 
another part scarcely red, and when being cooled to 
harden they cracked. The second man did his work 
by watching carefully so as to heat the tool very 



. TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 29 

evenly, no part of the tool being any hotter than just 
enough to harden, the results being every tool came 
through the hardening process safe and sound, with- 
out a flaw of any kind. Reader, which of these me- 
chanics are you going to be, first or second? Consider 
the difference between the two, then take your choice. 

How to Judge Hard from Soft Steel. 

There are numerous ways of telling the difference 
between hard and soft steel, as in the following. First 
way is by the fracture of a fresh break, as hard steel 
when broken cold from the bar, will show a very fine 
and smooth fracture, while soft steel will show a coarse 
and rough fracture. Second way, take two bars of % 
inch octagon steel nick the bars all around when cold, 
6 inches apart for cold chisels, place the part of the 
bar at the nick directly over the square hole of the 
anvil. Then strike with a sledge. The hard bar will 
break at the nicks with one or perhaps two blows, but 
the soft bar will require five or six blows in order to 
break it. 

Third way, supposing a number of cold chisels are to 
be dressed that have been in use for some time, by 
close observation it will be seen that the heads are of a 
different shape and appearance. For instance. The 
head of one chisel will have the steel widened out and 
curled down over the body of the chisel. This illus- 
trates soft steel of about 60 points carbon. Another 
head will crumble off as it widens out instead of curling 
up. This indicates steel of medium hardness of 75 or 
80 points carbon, which is the best for cold chisels and 
all similar tools. Still another head will show the steel 



30 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

split and broken off half an inch down the sides. This 
represents a high carbon steel of 1 per cent, which is 
too hard for chisel use, but would be good for lathe 
and planer tools. This way is perfectly reliable when 
telling the difference between hard and soft steel. When 
forging, soft steel will give much more readily under 
the hammer and will hold the heat much longer, than 
hard steel. 

If two pieces of steel, one hard the other soft, are 
hardened at the same heat, the hard piece will be scaled 
off white, while the soft piece will be only partly scaled 
off, showing a black and white appearance. 



How to Tell Good from Poor Steel. 

The fracture of good steel when first broken, will 
show a silvery white appearance clear through the bar, 
while the fracture of poor steel will show a dull grey. 
When judging or testing steel by the fracture do not 
allow the steel to get wet or rusty. 



Testing Steel After Hardening With a File. 

When hardening tools of an expensive nature, it is 
always best to make sure the steel is properly hardened 
before undertaking to draw the temper, by testing with 
a good sharp file in some part that will not interfere 
with the cutting qualities of the tool. Should the file 
run over the steel without taking a hold, the steel is all 
right, but on the other hand, should the file take a 
hold of it, the tool will have to be hardened again, 
having a little higher heat than the first time. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 31 

Instructions on Toolmaking That Have to Be Given 
Many Times. 

In giving instructions on toolmaking in the following 
chapters of this book it will be necessary to give to a 
certain extent the same advice as different tools are 
described. And so I will ask the reader to bear this in 
mind, as what is told many times will be that which 
is most beneficial towards making steel work a success, 
and also which I wish to impress most deeply on the 
reader's mind in order that it may be well remembered 



CHAPTER II. 

The blacksmith's fire — Anvil — Tongs — Making a hand 
hammer. 

The Blacksmith's Fire. 

The fire is one of the most important things con- 
nected with the blacksmith 's or tooldresser 's trade, ano 
is the first thing I will describe toward toolmaking. 
The main points of a fire to be considered is, the fire 
should be on a forge large enough to enable the fire to 
be easily regulated to any size, according to the work 
that has to be heated in it, and have plenty of blast 
which can be well regulated. The fire should always 
consist of well charred coal, being perfectly free from 
all sulphur, gas, ashes, clinkers and thick smoke 
before undertaking to heat steel in it. 

In reference to the size of the fire I will illustrate, 
supposing we have a large piece of steel to heat (say a 
stone hammer), we want to heat it evenly and clear 
through, the fire must be large enough to accommodate 
the hammer so that it will not come in contact with the 
blast from the blower or bellows, and still have a cer- 
tain amount of fire over the hammer, which will re-, 
quire a fire of about 6 inches deep and 8 inches across 
the surface, but a smaller fire will do in case of small 
tools. 

The author has used a fire that was barely 1% inches 
across the whole heated surface, but this was made 
especially for hardening and tempering certain parts 

32 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 33 

of tools. But be on the safe side by having the fire 
large enough, as coal is cheaper than steel and saves 
time. 

It will be money saved by securing as good coal as is 
possible to get, there being a great difference in coal, 
as some kinds are more free from smoke and sulphur 
and will not cake or get hard as othei kinds, and 
tools of irregular shape can be placed more easily 
without disturbing the build of the fire. Keep the coal 
under cover and clear from all rubbish, coal loses a 
great amount of its heating qualities when the sun 
shines on it continually. 

Bellows and Blowers. 

In the majority of ordinary shops the bellows are still 
used, some being much better than others, both as to 
the power of the blast and the construction of the 
bellows, and to anyone who is following the trade of 
blacksmithing I would advise having as good a one as 
is possible to get. 

I have seen bellows that have been in use for fifteen 
years and are almost as good as new, while others will 
wear out in one year. The hardness or easiness as the 
case may be of blowing the bellows is chiefly due to the 
way they are set up (as I have seen bellows that would 
tire a blacksmith to blow them, which should be in 
the nature of a rest instead of hard work), and if the 
uprights or posts on which the bellows hang are in a 
very upright position, the chances are the bellows will 
be hard to blow, so set them at an angle of about 45 
degrees. If the uprights are given too much angle 
there will be too much leverage, and the bellows will 
lack motion. 



34 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Blowers are used a great deal in these days (they 
take the place of bellows), which are run by hand in 
small shops by the use of a crank or lever, although in 
large shops blowers are run by steam power, and the 
smith simply regulates his fire by moving a lever to 
different positions. It makes no difference what pro- 
duces the blast so long as there is plenty of it, and at 
the same time it can be well regulated. 

The Anvil. 

The anvil is a tool used in the blacksmith trade or 
shop which is practically the foundation of all tools, for 
the forging and shaping of all classes of work and 
more particular in regards to toolmaking. There are a 
great many different sizes of anvils, as well as a great 
many different makes. In reference to the size of the 
anvil, some smiths want one size, some another, but 
for general tool work an anvil weighing 225 pounds 
is about right. 

There is a great difference in the make and also the 
quality of anvils. The author has forged tools on 
almost every make of anvil manufactured in Great 
Britain or the United States, but the kind that has 
given the most satisfactory results, and which can be 
relied upon, is known as the Hay Budden. Manufac- 
tured by the Hay Budden Manufacturing Company, 
Brooklyn, New York, U. S. A. 

This make of anvils is fully guaranteed, they 
are made from the very best material and by expert 
workmen, and the face is perfectly hardened. There 
are no soft spots, neither do they sag down or get hol- 
lowing in the face, as in a great many other makes, 
including the Peter Wright. This is no hearsay, 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 35 

neither is the author favoring any particular manufac- 
turer, but this advice is founded on experience which 
is for the reader's benefit, as in order to do good work 
a good anvil is necessary, which is perfectly free from 
all hollows and soft spots. Tools of a flat surface, such 
as cold chisels, mill picks, axes, etc., must be dressed 
on a hard . and smooth anvil face to obtain the best 
results. When dressing wide tools such as an axe, a 
rough faced anvil will produce strains in the steel, 
which will increase the tendency to crack when hard- 
ening. 

The height of the anvil when on the block depends 
upon the tallness of the blacksmith who is to forge on 
it. I have noticed cases where a blacksmith was work- 
ing over an anvil so high as to be unable to strike a 
good hard blow, while on the other hand a tall black- 
smith was working over a low anvil that was making 
him humpbacked and round shouldered. But a good 
rule to go by, which will be found about right for all, 
is to have the anvil just high enough so that the black- 
smith may readily touch the anvil face with his 
knuckles when clasping the hammer handle and stand- 
ing in an upright position. 

Don't have the anvil merely sitting on a block that 
is continually jumping up and down with every blow 
from the hammer, but have it well bound to the block. 
But some will say, ''That stops it from ringing," or ''I 
can't work on an anvil that does not ring." Reader, 
this is all nonsense, what has the ringing of the anvil 
to do with the work, it may be all right for the class 
that wants to make a lot of noise to let others know 
they are working, but it is of no use when it comes to 
doing the work with ease, both for the blacksmith and 
helper. So have a block a little larger than the base of 



36 



THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



the anvil, a good depth in the ground, say 3% or 4 feet 
(if it can't be made solid any other way), place the 
anvil on it and bore a hole through the block 6 inches 
below the anvil. 

Now make a bolt from % round iron 2^/2 inches 
longer than the block, as shown in Figure 2 at a. Make 




0- 



& 



Fig. 2. Irons to bind anvil to block. 



two irons from % square as b, leaving them long 
enough so that the holes in the ends will extend over 
the base of the anvil. After taking the measure make 
two irons, as c, which are to extend from below the 
bolt in the post up through the irons that I'est on the 
base of the anvil b. Place all together and tighten 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



37 



lip the nuts firmly. Figure 3 illustrates the anvil fast- 
ened to the block. In large up to date shops cast iron 
blocks are used, which are made especially for the 
anvil to fit into, thereby holding the anvil perfectly 
fast. 




Fig. 3. Showing anvil bound to block. 



Tongs. 

Tongs are among the most necessary tools needed 
by the blacksmith, and without them he would be at a 
standstill. There are a great many different shapes 
and forms of tongs (vfith the exception of a few ordi- 
nary styles) which are made according to the work they 
are to hold, and to be a good tong maker is an art to 
be proud of, as it requires skill to make them light and 
strong, and have them hold perfectly fast to the work 
without hurting or cramping the hand. 

Success often depends on good tongs, as I have known 
blacksmiths to fail at their work simply for the want 
of them. Again, a blacksmith who uses all his strength 
to hold clumsy or poor tongs on the work cannot use 
his hammer to advantage. The author has tongs that 
are made entirely from steel and are very strong, 



38 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

and also are only half the weight of the ordinary iron 
tongs. They are a pleasure to use, as they hold per- 
fectly firm with very little hard pressure, because the 
handles just come close enough together so as to keep 
the hand full, in somewhat the same way as clasping a 
hammer handle. These tongs have been in use a num- 
ber of years and are as good as new. 

In using tongs made from steel care should be exer- 
cised to keep them cool (and especially if made from 
cast steel) by occasionally placing them in water. If 
brine is used to do the hardening keep the tongs out of 
it or they will rust, but should there be occasion to put 
the tongs in it be sure and rinse off after in clear water. 

One of the greatest features in making tongs at the 
present time is to have them adjustable, so that one 
pair will do the work of seven or eight ordinary pairs 
of tongs. I have tongs in my possession that will hold 
from V2 inch square up to 1% inches square, or octagon, 
and will also -hold flat sizes 2 inches by % down to % 
square, and hold each size very firm, while the size is 
regulated by an adjustable jaw by moving a small bolt 
into different holes in* the jaw, which requires but a few 
seconds to change, as shown in Figure 4. Still another 
point worthy of mention is to make the handles half 
round. This will form a spring and will be very easy 
to hold, but have the half round as wide as is reason- 
able ; for example, % half round will be right and fill 
the hand better than 7-16 round. Figure 5 illustrates 
tongs specially adapted for dressing cold chisels, made 
with V-shaped jaws, which will readily hold round, 
square or octagon. When making tongs, as Figures 4 
and 5, from cast steel use a very soft steel of about 60 
points carbon, and % square in size. After forging 
the jaws, as shown in Figure 5, the handles may be 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



^ 




End view of adjustable tongs 
when holding smallest size. 





Showing how adjustable jaw is 

forged — dotted lines indicate 

where to split. 



V 



u 



Showing piece split and forged 
to shape of jaw. 



^C7 

Fig. 4. Adjustable tonga 

regulated for holding 

largest size. 



4U 



THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 




Figure showing jaws made to 
hold round octagon or squarOo 





llustrgting how jaws are forged 
a.nd bent to shape. 



K^ 



v^ 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



41 



forged or welded on, but will prove most satisfactory 
if forged in one piece. 

Figure 6 illustrates double levered and adjustable 
tongs invented by the 
celebrated steel worker, 
Prof. W. S. Casterlin, 
Pittston, Pennsylvania, 
U. S. A. These tongs 
have been improved by 
the author and are very 
powerful and light. They 
are especially designed 
for grasping tools of a 
beveled nature, such as 
mill picks, axes, etc., and 
will hold flat material of 
any width, ranging in 
thickness from 1-16 to 
1% inches. The jaws of 
these tongs are copper 
lined, which prevents 
slipping. 

Fullers ajid Swages. 

These tools are invalu- 
able to the blacksmith in 
shaping and forging 
many classes of work, 
especially intoolmaking. 
Fullers and swages take 
in a wide range of differ- 
ent sizes, from % to 2 
inches for ordinary use, 




42 



THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



and larger sizes are used according to the class of work 
to be done. When making fullers or swages use a 
soft carbon steel of about 65 points. They will not 
require to be hardened or tempered as their work is 
chiefly on hot iron or steel. 

Figure 6% represents a top and bottom swage, while 





Fig. 6X. Top and bottom swages. 



Figure 7 shows a small size of top and bottom fullers. 
Figure 8 illustrates a large top fuller. Figure 9 indi- 
cates how large swages, and also large fullers, as 
Figure 8, may be forged before bending to shape. 
Dotted lines as aa, illustrate the projections, cc, bent 
to form a fuller. Dotted lines, as bb, illustrates the 
projections bent to form a swage. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



43 





Fig. 7;" Top and bottom fullers. 





Fig. 8. Front view of 
large top fuller. 



b iJ 

Fig. 9. How large fullers and 
swages may be forged. 



Flatters and Set Hammer. 

The flatter is to the blacksmith what the plane is to 
the carpenter, being principally used for taking out all 
hammer marks and so leave a finished appearance on 



44 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

the work, but may be used for several other purposes. 
Flatters may be divided into two classes, such as light 
and heavy (most blacksmiths make use of only one 
flatter, which is generally a heavy one, but a light one 
can be used to advantage in a great many cases), and 
although they are made with either round or square 
edges, the round edged flatter is preferred for general 
use. Flatters are generally made by upsetting the 
steel to form the face, then the projections of the face 
are spread with a fuller or otherwise may be driven 
down in a square socket, same size as the body of the 
steel. But flatters may be made by selecting a piece of 
steel the same size as the face of the flatter is to be, 
then fuller in from all four sides of the steel and draw 
out, afterv/ards cutting off from the main body of the 
steel according to the thickness or depth of the face. 

Set hammers are very useful in making square cor- 
ners and are very convenient in accomplishing work 
in awkward places which cannot be done with a flatter. 
Figure 10 illustrates a light round edged flatter, while 
Figure 11 shows a heavy flatter v/ith square edges, and 
Figure 12 shows a set hammer. 

The Hammer. 

A good hammer is a tool to be prized by a blacksmith, 
and plays an important part in working steel. 
The face of the hammer must be properly hardened 
and tempered, in order to prevent it from getting hol- 
low in the center or being too hard on the corners, thus 
causing it to break, and the face must be perfectly 
smooth so as not to leave any nicks or dents in the 
steel. 

A great many blacksmiths think all they have to do 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



45 




Fig. 10. Light round edge flatter, made from 1/i inch square 
steel, face 2 inches square. 




Fig. 11. Heavy square edge flatter made from iX inch square 
steel, face 2% inch square. 



4C 



THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



in order to get a good hammer is. to go to the hardware 
store and buy one. They will buy one all right, but 
what are the results. It is this, after they are in use 
a little while a piece will break off the face, which if 
examined closely the fracture will show a dull gray 
appearance, a sure sign of poor steel. 

By referring to buying hammers in the hardware 
store, I had a wide experience during my first years 




Fig. 12. Set hammer made from 1% inch square steel. 



at the trade, and through ignorance, after purchasing 
a hammer and it did not give good satisfaction, I would 
generally give the hardvv^are man a calling down for 
selling it to me. Although he was not to blame as his 
business was to sell and not to manufacture, and as 
regards his knowledge concerning good or bad steel, it 
was very limited. I am not stating this, reader, to 
criticise the hardware merchant, or the tool manufac- 
turer, or machine made tools of any kind, as in a great 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 47 

many eases the machine tools are equal to those that 
are hand made. But not so in the case of a good hand 
forged, hardened and tempered hammer. 

MaMng and Dressing a Hand Hammer. 

In making a hammer, as to weight and shape, it is 
hard to say what would suit all blacksmiths, but for a 
forging hammer for making and dressing tools, two 
pounds in weight will be about right. But in cases 
such as dressing mill picks, granite tool sharpening, 
and on jobs of tool dressing where a helper is not 
necessary, a hammer of three and one-quarter pounds 
in weight will be best. 

But let us take a piece of good steel of about 75 point 
carbon, 1% inches square and 4 inches long, which will 
make a forging hammer two pounds in weight. Have 
a good clean fire and plenty large enough; place the 
steel in the fire and heat slowly, turning it around oc- 
casionally so as not to overheat the corners while the 
center is yet black, but heat to a good even yellow 
heat clear through. The hammer may now be forged 
as shown and illustrated in a b c. Figure 13, or any. 
shape the blacksmith may choose. I have known black- 
smiths who could forge a well shaped hammer equal 
to the expert toolsmith, but when they came to the 
hardening and tempering of it would fail entirely. 

I will state some of the obstacles that blacksmiths 
have to contend with which reduce the chances of 
making a good hammer. They are afraid to heat the 
steel to a high forging heat ; and to explain, I remem- 
ber when in my apprenticeship I was helping a black- 
smith to make a hammer, and as we were proceeding 
he was giving me instructions while I was blowing the 



48 



THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 




Piece of iK inch square 
steel 4 inches long, with 
eye punched to make a 
2 lb. forging hammer. 




Illustrating how fullering 
is done after eye is 
punched. 




Showing side view of ham- 
mer completed with eye 
spread at c, (which is 
done with a fuller while 
the eye pin is in the eye 
of the hammer) and ful- 
lered in at e, with a 
larger fuller at the finish. 



Fig. 13. Indicating how hammer 
is forged. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEEL WORKER 49 

bellows, he said: ^' Never heat a piece of steel hot 
enough to raise a scale," (and of course at that time 
I thought the advice was good), however, we worked 
away, getting the eye punched, which was quite a hard 
job at that low heat, considering we had a 2 inch square 
piece of steel, but while we were making the hammer 
we had other jobs to do as is generally the case in a 
general blacksmith shop, and so occasionally the steel 
was left soaking in the fire for half an hour at a time 
(letting the steel lay in the fire is a bad practice among 
blacksmiths and is very injurious to the steel after 
being hot enough to work). Well, we got it forged to a 
very good shape, but I was not there when he hardened 
and tempered it (as I had given up my job). However, 
I called in some time after and noticed that the hammer 
was broken off at the corners, and also being hollow in 
the face. 

Another blacksmith who had forged a well shaped 
hammer and after hardening and tempering it in his 
own way, found it to be as soft as lead. This hammer, 
I think, was hardened and tempered three or four times 
V itliout success, consequently he threw it in the scrap 
pile, saying the steel was no good, while he "himself" 
was to blame as he had a very poor knowledge pertain- 
ing to the working of steel. 

Now I would like to impress deeply on the reader's 
mind, if every mechanic could be an expert by doing his 
work in a rough and tumble way, the world would be 
full of expert mechanics, and if every blacksmith or 
toolsmith could make tools to give unlimited satisfac- 
tion, there would be no use in writing this book. But 
as this is impossible, it is necessary to have a thorough 
knowledge of working steel when forging hammers, and 
moderation in heating is the stepping stone to success. 



50 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

For instance, if a square piece of steel is heated very 
hot and fast the corners will become overheated and 
if struck a blow with the hammer on the corners the 
steel would fly to pieces, while the steel has lost its 
good qualities and is spoiled in the beginning. The 
other extreme is trying to forge steel at a low heat, 
sometimes not above a blood red, while every blow that 
is struck on the steel is putting strains in it. What I 
mean by '' strains" is the steel must be hot enough so 
that it will be worked clear through, and if this is not 
done the steel is liable to crack in the hardening. I 
have known hammers to crack clear through the center 
of the face, then all the labor is lost. 

But to get the best results, forge the hammer in the 
beginning by having the steel at an even yellow heat, 
but lower the heat as the hammer is finished (all tools 
should be finished at a low heat, for example, a dark 
dull red, in order to get the best results). If much 
filing is to be done after the hammer is forged it should 
be annealed. When dressing the face end of the ham- 
mer make the corners a little rounding, but otherwise 
have the face perfectly flat and level, and the hammer 
is ready for the flnal blow, "the hardening." 

Hardening and Tempering a Hammer. 

After hardening there are different ways of temper- 
ing a hammer according to the shape. But for illustra- 
tion, I will harden and temper a hammer as in Figure 
13, but before commencing it must be understood that 
the face end of the hammer, at b, is the principal end. 
After getting the flre in good shape, the coal welJ 
charred and free from all sulphur and thick smoke, 
place the face end of the hammer in the fire from an 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 51 

upright position ; noAV heat slowly and evenly, making 
sure that the corners do not get overheated ; should the 
corners get hot enough to harden before the center, stop 
blowing the fire until the center has come up to a cherry 
red, or hot enough to harden even with the corners; 
then plunge the whole hammer in the hardening bath 
and hold there until stone cold. Now polish the face 
end (that was hardened) bright, then place the round 
or pene end of the hammer in the fire in an upright 
position and heat very slowly, as while heating to 
harden the round end the temper will draw to a blue 
in the face end if properly timed or regulated, so that 
one end may be hardened and the opposite end temp- 
ered in one operation, but be careful to watch both 
ends of the hammer at the same time. If the round end 
g:ets hot enough to harden before the temper appears 
on the other end stop blowing the fire until the temper 
begins to show up. It will not matter about the round 
end, after hardening, whether any temper be drawn or 
not, as there are no sharp corners to break off, but the 
temper may be drawn by holding over the fire and 
keep turning the hammer around, or may be done by 
placing a heated heavy iron band over the end. 

Bear in mind that when heating the ends of the ham- 
mer to harden do not heat to a hardening heat more than 
% of an inch back from the end, and at all times never 
harden the eye. A hammer that is made, hardened and 
tempered after these instructions will not get hollow 
in the center or break off at the corners or the eye. 
This is the author's favorite way of hardening and 
tempering a forging hammer and will be found very 
simple by the average blacksmith when once tried. 
Although there is another good way which is very con- 
venient for hammers that have two face ends, such as 



52 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

a horseshoer's turning sledge or a boilermaker's ham- 
mer. For example, after the ends are hardened the 
temper can be drawn by placing a heated heavy iron 
band over the end of the hammer (as already men- 
tioned). This method will draw the corners to any 
temper (say a pale blue), while the center will remain 
hard. This way will give good satisfaction as the center 
of a hammer cannot be too hard unless overheated, but 
the corners must be drawn to a very low temper. These 
instructions will apply to all ordinary hammers and 
sledges. 

The old-fashioned way of tempering a hammer is by 
heating one end with the corners hot enough to harden, 
while the center is barely red, it is then cooled off 
by dipping an inch into the hardening bath, then allow- 
ing the temper to run down to the desired color. Con- 
sequently the hammer becomes hollow faced, could not 
be otherwise, as it did not harden in the center of the 
face at all, because it was not hot enough, and when 
the temper came down it made it still softer. For ex- 
ariiple, supposing a hammer face (unless it be a very 
small hammer) is heated very evenly, then hardened 
by being dipped an inch into the water, it is still bound 
to be soft as the temper is sure to run out at the center 
first. 

Successful Points to Be Remembered in Making and 
Tempering a Hammer. 

Have the eye straight through the hammer and a 
little smaller in the center, which will keep the handle 
in the hammer much better after being well fitted and 
then wedged. Always have the center of the hammer 
face as hard as the corners, but the corners must not 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 53 

exceed a light blue temper, unless the hammer is forged 
from a very soft cast steel, harden the hammer at as 
low heat as it will be sure to harden at. Have a good 
straight handle, a little spring to it is a good fault. 
Another good point to remember when making ham- 
mers is, do not punch the eye the full size at the be- 
ginning, but have it a little smaller, as the eye will get 
larger as the hammer is forged. 

Punching Holes in Steel. 

Punching holes in steel is considered by the average 
blacksmiths to be a difficult job, the trouble being they 
try to punch the steel at too low a heat or else they 
have not proper tools to do it with. Some blacksmiths 
use too long and straight an eye punch, consequently 
when the punch enters the steel a short distance the 
end becomes hot and upsets, causing it to stick in the 
steel, while the blacksmith experiences a difficulty to 
get the punch out of the steel. Then the punch is 
straightened again and the blacksmith works away 
until he gets the hole through. I have known black- 
smiths to have a punch stick in the steel three or four 
times while punching one hole through a piece of 1% 
inch square steel. 

Coal dust is very good when put in the hole to keep 
the punch from sticking, but the main points to be con- 
sidered is the heat in the steel when punching and 
proper shaped tools, especially when making hammers. 
And so make an eye punch and eye pin, as Figures 14 
and 15. The eye punch is made from li^ inch square 
steel. After the eye is punched the punch part of the 
tool should be forged down to an oval shape diagonally 
across the steel (which will bring the handle at a right 



54 



THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



angle when the punch is in use and also keep the hand 
away from the hot steel), and be very short and have 
plenty of taper, while the corners of the extreme point 




Fig. 15. The eye pin. 



should be perfectly square, an eye punch of this de- 
scription will not stick in the hole and will not bend. 

When punching have the steel a high yellow heat, 
then the punch will penetrate it with more ease than if 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 55 

heated to barely a cherry red, and cool off the punch oc- 
casionally. An eye pin should be made from % square 
steel, by forging it tapering to a small square point, 
then to make oval, hammer down two opposite corners 
of the square a little rounding, which will give the 
shape required. The eye pin should also be short and 
have plenty of taper, this will make the eye a little 
smaller in the center when driven in from opposite 
sides, which will keep a handle in much better if well 
fitted in then wedged. 



CHAPTER HI. 
The cold chisel — The hardy — Drills and drilling. 

The Cold Chisel. 

A cold chisel is a tool used by every mechanical trade 
and business where iron or steel is used, or wherever 
machinery is repaired or manufactured, and in the 
proper forging, hardening and tempering of a cold 
chisel lies the foundation and successful stepping stone 
in making all edged tools with a flat surface, as a cold 
chisel hold a good cutting edge and neither bend 
or break. 

But the shape of the chisel is another point that must 
be well understood, as a fine chipping chisel which is 
made very thin for use on solid and soft material would 
not do for a boilermaker who is working on sheet steel 
which vibrates at every blow from the hammer. Thus, 
the vibration of the steel would be very trying on a thin 
chisel, and would consequently cause it to break, and 
so a heavier and thicker chisel must be made and put 
into use, as shown in 1, 2, 3, 4, Figure 16. 

A cold chisel can be made to chip almost any kind 
of material, as the author has made chisels to chip from 
the softest known material up to chilled metal, which 
will seem like a fable to a great many simply because 
they never saw it accomplished. I have known 
machinists who wore out a number of new files per- 
forming some work on chilled metal, because they 
could not get a cold chisel properly made to chip it. 

56 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 57 

Now I would like to impress on the reader's mind that 
I have made chisels to chip metal that a file would not 
bite, but these chisels were not tempered to a blue (as 
a great many mechanics think a cold chisel must always 
be tempered to a blue), neither were they made from 
any old scrap piece of steel that might be handy. As 
I have known blacksmiths to take an old file or rasp, 
forge it to a round or square, and then attempt to make 



Q 



I 1 



(Q 




(3 




tt 



<a 



^p 



Fig. 16. Illustrating shapes of cold chisels according to use. 

1. Machinist's chipping chisel. 2. Ordinary or farmer's 

chisel. 3. Boilermaker's chisel. 4. Chisel 

for chipping hard metal. 

a cold chisel out of it, what nonsense. File steel as a 
rule is too high in carbon, being 1 per cent and over, 
while 75 point carbon is plenty high enough for cold 
chisels. Again, files in a great many cases are manu- 
factured from a poor grade of steel; not only that, but 
the cuts or teeth of the file will be put deeper in the 



58 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

steel the more it is forged, consequently as the tool is 
finished the teeth of the file will be in the cutting edge 
of the tool (which is to be used as a cold chisel), which 
will break out or upset when put in use. 

I will explain how the majority of blacksmith's 
harden and temper a cold chisel. After they have it 
forged to the shape, finishing sometimes with a low 
black heat, other times at a high yellow heat, no matter 
whether the last blows fall on the edge or the flat side, 
whichever is most convenient to bring the chisel into 
the desired shape, then file on the cutting edge, now 
for the hardening and tempering. They get the chisel 
hot anywhere from % of an inch to 2 inches back from 
the cutting edge, dip into the water % of an inch, hold- 
ing it there for a minute or so, brighten it up a little, 
then allowing the temper to run down, no matter how 
-fast, until a blue temper reaches the cutting edge, then 
it is cooled off and is ready for trial. Now I will point 
out the dangerous practices that the chisel has come 
through, when being hardened. The chisel was lowered 
into the water about % of an inch and held perfectly 
still for a short while, now right there between the 
hardened and the unhardened (if the chisel was heated 
enough to harden far enough back) is a dividing line 
and a strain, and a great many chisels are broken off 
there from the cause of this strain. Again, if there 
was plenty of heat left in the steel above the hardened 
part, especially if hardened barely 1 inch back from the 
edge, the temper will run down very quickly, so that 
when it reaches the cutting edge, there is only 14 of 
an inch that shows any temper which will be a blue, 
the other colors have hardly been noticed on account 
of the temper running down so rapidly. Thus there 
is only % of an inch back from the cutting edge of the 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 59 

chisel that is tempered, while back of the tempered 
part the steel will be extremely soft, which is apt to 
cause the cutting edge to bend or break off and should 
the chisel be thin the tendency to break or bend will 
be increased. 

But let us make a chisel, as No. 1, Figure 16, that 
will when finished cut the bar it is made from and not 
bend or break if used any way like a chisel should be 
used. Take a bar of % i^ch octagon good steel about 
75 point carbon, cut off 6 inches, which will make a 
chisel about the right length. The end that the ham- 
mer is to strike upon should be drawn down a little 
and left square or fiat on the end, then the blow will 
fall directly on the center of the body of the chisel and 
be less liable to break it. Heat the steel for the chisel 
end to a good yellow forging heat, draw it down near 
to the required shape, making it a point to have it a 
little narrower than just Avhat is wanted when finished, 
and we will finish the 3hisGl in a way not known to the 
ordinary blacksmith. Now have the chisel a low red 
heat so that it may be noticed to be red when placed 
in a dark place. Then strike the chisel five or six good 
hard blows on the flat side (holding the chisel very 
firm and level on the anvil), commencing about 2 inches 
back from the cutting edge, then coming gradually 
towards the cutting edge with every blow, Avhen the 
last blow has fallen directly on the cutting edge turn 
the chisel over and hammer this side the same way, but 
be careful and do not hammer the steel too cold, but 
instead heat again and hammer both sides evenly as 
before. Then it is finished and ready for the harden- 
ing. 

The hammering of the chisel on the flat sides when 
at a low heat refines and packs the steel, leaving it 



60 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

dense and much stronger than steel in its natural state, 
but remember this, not one blow is to be struck on the 
edge of the chisel, as it would knock out all the 
tenacity and toughness put in by the blows on the 
flat side, if the edges spread out a little uneven during 
the hammering grind or file to the right shape. Ham- 
mering steel after it gets cold or below a certain heat is 
injurious and makes the steel brittle and flaky as pie 
crust, and will never hold a good cutting edge until 
cut off. When hammering wide chisels, hammer in 
the form of dotted lines in chisel No. 1, commencing as 
indicated, and on both sides equally. Now we will 
harden and temper the chisel, after being forged as 
already explained, heat the chisel to an even cherry 
red heat 1% inches back from the cutting edge, then 
dip deep in the hardening bath at least 1% inches, at 
the same time raising and lowering so as to form no 
dividing line of strain (and thus the hardened part 
will soften away gradually into the unhardened part). 
Polish up bright with some sand paper, emery cloth 
or polishing stick, as mentioned in the following pages, 
but after polishing there may not be enough heat left 
in the chisel to drive the temper down to the cutting 
edge, and so draw the temper by holding the chisel 
over the fire, heating very slowly and moving back 
and forward so as to get an even light blue temper all 
over the hardened part, then cool off. A chisel that 
is forged, hammered, hardened and tempered after 
these instructions will give the best of satisfaction, 
and can be placed over the horn of the anvil and struck 
quite a hard blow with a hammer, flatways on the 
chisel, without danger of it breaking or bending. The 
reason the chisel stands this abuse is due to the heavy 
hammering that was done on the flat side at a low heat, 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 61 

and also by being properly hardened and tempered so 
far back acts as a foundation back from the cutting 
edge. 

The chisel, No. 1, Figure 16, is very thin being 1-16 
thick at the cutting edge and tapering back 2% inches 
to % inch in thickness (when made from % steel), and 
is classed as a machinist's chipping chisel. It will do 
for almost any machinist's ordinary work, but is too 
soft to cut anything harder than cast steel. A chisel 
to chip hard chilled metal, especially if struck with a 
heavy hammer, must be made with a short taper to 
form the cutting edge, as No. 4, Figure 16, and is tem- 
pered to a purple. If this is found to be too soft use 
a harder temper, say, a copper or dark straw. But if 
the metal is excessively hard, harden and draw no 
temper. Chisels that are made thick, are not required 
to be hardened and tempered so far back as thin chis- 
els. This information applies to all kinds of chisels and 
similar tools. Nos. 1 and 2, Figure 17, illustrates the 
cape and round nose chisels. When -making these chis- 
els they should have a clearance by making the cutting 
edge, as A, No. 1, wider than at b, the round nose is 
forged round on the under side as c, by being placed in 
a bottom swage. 

The Hardy. 

The hardy is a tool used by almost every blacksmith, 
but more especially by general blacksmiths. It is used 
for numerous purposes, but its main use is, as a chisel. 
The cutting edge should be made thin, as the hardy is 
chiefly used for cutting hot iron or steel, and again if 
made thin it will not require so many blows from the 
hammer to do the work. The forging, hardening and 



62 



THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



tempering are the same as mentioned in making a cold 
chisel. But the points to be considered when making 
one is, have the shank that fits into the square hole o:^ 
the anvil, fit snug, so that it will not twist round, while 
the upper part should extend well over the sides and 
should be level, so as to sit on the anvil solid. 

Sometimes it is necessary to make a hardy to go 
in the round hole of the anvil. A hardy of this kind, 
is made by splitting the steel, so that one part will 
extend over the side of the anvil which will keep it in 
place, as shown in Figure 19 at a. Hardies of this 

b 





Fig. 17. Ordinary shapes of cape and round nose chisels. 
1. The cape chisel. 2. The round nose chisel. 

shape are used chiefly by toolsmiths when sharpening 
stone cutters' tools, as the square hole is occupied by 
holding other tools such as a stake which remains sta- 
tionary. And as a hardy is also very needful, it must 
be made to sit in the round hole, which is the only 
remedy. 



Heavy, Hot, Cold, and Railroad Chisels. 
I have known a great many blacksmiths to try and 
do all their work with one chisel. Now any reasonable 
thinking mechanic will know that a cold chisel will 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 63 





Fig. 18. Correct shape of Fig. 19. Hardy made to sit 

hardy. in round hole of anvil. 




Fig. 20. The blacksmith's cold chisel. 



64 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

lose its temper when coining in contact with red hot 
iron or steel, and that a properly made hot or splitting 
chisel is too thin to cut cold steel and stand the sudden 
shock by a blow from a heavy sledge. Yet a great 
many will work away trying to cut a piece of cold 
steel, while the chisel will barely mark it, but instead 
the chisel bruises up, because it has been used on hot 
material and has lost its temper. But the blacksmith 
does not think of this, consequently he puts the blame 
on the steel which the chisel is made from and then 
decides to heat the piece (he is going to cut), so that 
he may cut it easier. But it is a poor theory as with a 
good heavy cold chisel he could cut off cold, three 
pieces (up to a certain size), while he is heating one 
piece. But a great many blacksmiths think it is not 
possible to cut off tool steel without heating it. 

But to impress on the reader's mind the necessary 
use of good chisels, we will take a railroad chisel, if it 
is well made and from good steel, it will cut at least 
15 rails, while I have known some to cut 60 rails with- 
out redressing, but they did not come in contact with 
hot material. Although there are today a great many 
blacksmiths and tooldressers who cannot make a chisel 
cut two rails, which applies also to the blacksmiths' 
hot and cold chisels, a good blacksmith's heavy cold 
chisel should cut off at least 120 pieces of %-iiich 
octagon steel of 75 point carbon without grinding. 

When making a blacksmith's hot or cold chisel, use 
1% inch square steel which will be heavy enough for 
all ordinary work. A hot chisel should be made very 
thin so as to penetrate the hot metal with ease, but a 
cold chisel must be left much thicker. A hot chisel, 
when doing a great amount of cutting at once, should 
be cooled off occasionally to avoid drawing the temper 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



65 



as little as possible. These chisels are forged, hardened 
and tempered as explained in making an ordinary small 
cold chisel, but heavy chisels, such as railroad chisels, 
instead of hammering with a hand hammer at the finish 
when forging, place a heavy flatter on the flat side of 
the chisel and let the helper strike it a few good heavy 




Fig. 21. The hot or splitting chisel. 

blows with a sledge, then turn over the chisel and go 
over this side the same way, which will have the same 
effect on the steel as hammering with a hand hammer, 
and be better, as the blows will be much heavier, but 
be sure that the flatter comes in contact with the ex- 
treme cutting edge. 

A railroad chisel is made from 1%-inch square steel. 
It should not be made entirely square across the cutting 
edge as an ordinary chisel, but should be ground or 



66 



THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



filed rounding at the corners, as in Figure 22, which 
will make them more difficult to break and also give 
better satisfaction. If the cutting edge is tapered in 
from the sides to 1% inches across the cutting edge, it 
v/ill cut deeper when struck with a sledge or hammer 
and will be more convenient to get in the corners of 




Fig. 22. The railroad chisel. 

the rail than if the cutting edge was the full width of 
the body of the chisel. 



Drills and Drilling. 

Drills are in great demand, both in the machine and 
blacksmith shops, but where drilling by hand power is 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 67 

performed, is where good, fast and easy cutting drills 
are especially necessary. As in my first years at the 
trade, I had a great deal of practice drilling by hand, 
and with drills that were always breaking or being too 
soft, consequently putting the hole through often by 
main strength and energy, and other times with the 
drill squeaking by losing its cutting edge on the corners 
of the bit after drilling a few holes. 

A great many blacksmiths prefer using machine- 
made drills rather than make a flat drill, because they 
say a flat drill will not do the work of a machine drill, 
and if they are asked the reason why they will say that 
the ones they buy in a hardware store are secret 
tempered or give some other reason, and often they 
will reply: ''I don't know why." Now I wish to say 
to the reader that the author once made a flat drill 
that drilled 200 holes through a plate of hard metal % 
inch thick, and 40 holes through a plate of steel, at two 
grindings, without redressing. Will any machine-made 
drill do better ? I will explain, although I mention one 
drill that did this amount of work. It was not tempered 
through guess work, neither did I strike the right 
temper by accident as some readers may think, as I 
will make any flat drill do the work of a machine-made 
drill, and I will go one better, as I will make a flat drill 
go through hard material which a machine-made drill 
will not penetrate. Reader, if you are an ordinary 
mechanic you can make a flat drill to do as well, if you 
will follow the instructions given in this chapter. 

Making a Flat Drill. 

Good tool steel of 75 points carbon will do for all 
ordinary drills, but for extremely hard drilling, steel 



68 



THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



of a higher carbon, say 90 points or 1 per cent, will be 
best. When making a flat drill, for example % i^ch in 
diameter, naturally the bit of the drill will be forged 
by making flat the end of a round piece of steel, but 
in forging the bit, do so if possible, by striking the 
bit edgewise as little as possible, and never try to forge 
the cutting edge of the bit, but cut off at right angles 
with a thin hot or splitting chisel on a piece of flat iron 
or copper. (This will keep the- chisel from coming in 
contact with the hard face of the anvil, which would 
readily dull the cutting edge of the chisel.) Now strike 
the flat surface of the bit a couple of hard blows on 
each side while still at a low heat. 

To have a fast cutting drill, the bit should be bent 
a little at right angles to form what is known as a 
lip, as in Figure 23, No. 1. Do this at a low heat (not 



V 



Fig. 23. 



O 



V 



b 



Illustrating front and side views of flat drills, for 
hard and soft material. 



exceeding a low cherry red), after the hammering has 
been done on the flat surfatie, by placing it a little over 
the edge of the anvil and then striking it with the ham- 
mer. This shape of a bit will cut soft metal much 
quicker and with greater ease than if left perfectly flat, 
and will equal any twist drill for fast cutting. Should 
the bit bfe a little too wide for the right size af the drill 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 69 

or the edges a little uneven, after being hammered and 
the lip formed, take it to the vise and file (or grind) 
on the cutting edge, but be careful to have both sides 
of the extreme point of the bit at the same angle, or the 
drill will not cut even and also cause all the strain to 
be placed on one cutting edge, which will have a ten- 
dency to break the drill if under heavy pressure. 

Harden at a low even heat by dipping deep in the 
hardening bath, now polish, and draw the temper over 
the fire to a purple, making sure that the corners of the 
bit are the same temper as the point (as some black- 
smiths allow the temper to run down, after not dipping 
deep enough in the bath to harden, and so the point of 
the drill is tempered while the corners are soft on ac- 
count of the temper running down so rapidly). A drill 
that is made after these directions will do a great 
amount of work without regrinding if plenty of oil is 
kept on the cutting edge when drilling wrought iron or 
steel, cast iron requires no oil. 

When drilling excessively hard material, such as 
tempered saw plate, chilled metal, etc., a perfectly flat 
iron drill, as No. 2, Figure 23, will be best, but it must 
not be drawn out so thin as a drill which is to drill soft 
material, and the cutting edge should not have so much 
bevel, draw the temper to a light straw. If this is found 
to be too soft, harden and draw no temper. Should this 
fail, heat the metal and lay a piece of brimstone on 
the exact spot which is to be drilled. But in heating 
tempered saw plate, casehardened plow mouldboards, 
etc., use as small a fire as possible so as not to draw the 
temper or hardness over more surface than just what is 
needed to drill the hole. 

Thick bars of slate are very difficult to drill, espe- 
cially when drilling such small holes as % inch diame- 



70 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

ter. When drilling small holes in slate, make a drill 
soxnewhat after the same way as for drilling hard metal 
but temper to a dark blue, having very little clearance, 
and when drilling, clean the dust out of the hole often, 
and occasionally dipping the drill in water to keep it 
from becoming hot and drawing the temper. 

Hand-Made Twist Drills. 

It is possible to make twist drills by being forged by 
hand, but requires a little skill. But by following these 
instructions there will be no difficulty after making the 
first one, and drills made after the following method 
will be superior and outwear any twist drill that can 
be purchased in a hardware store. 

To make a %-inch twist drill, take a piece of %-inch 
round steel, heat and flatten out to i^-inch thickness 
and allowing it to widen out 3-16 wider than the steel, 
and the same length as the drill is to be. The twist is 
then put in by holding it at a bevel on the anvil while at 
a deep yellow heat, but be careful not to put in too 
short a twist ; better put in a long twist, as it will get 
shorter as the drill is finished. Now take a low red heat 
the entire length of the twist, then with a very light 
hammer forge the twisted flutes edgeways, beginning at 
the back and following gradually towards the point. 
By this operation the flutes will widen on the outside 
while the centre will remain thin. By hammering ligntly 
at a low heat the drill will come to the required shape 
and be perfectly round. If the hollow grooves are more 
or less uneven, file them out with a small round file, but 
be sure that the corners of the bit will cut the full size 
of the drill when" ground. 

Harden the full length of the twist, polish bright, and 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



71 



draw the temper to a purple by drawing back and forth 
over the fire. 

Making a Twist Reamer. 

Of all the different kinds and shapes of reamers, a 
twist reamer properly made, takes the lead for fast and 
easy cutting. But like a hand-made twist drill requires 




Fig. 24. Illustrating how reamer is forged, before 
being twisted. 

a little skill. To make one (for example % inch in 
diameter), take a piece of % inch round steel. First 
forge the shank to go into the brace, then draw down 
round and tapered to about 3 inches in length, having it 
% iuch in diameter at the large end and 5-16 inch at 
the small end. Then flatten out to % inch thickness at 
the large end and % inch at the small end. To put in 
the twist commence at the large end which will be best 




Fig. 25. The twisted reamer completed 

done in a vise by the use of a wrench, but the twist in 
the small end can be done with the hammer by holding 
at a bevel on the anvil, then hammer as mentioned in 
making a twist drill until the reamer comes to the shape 
required. But bear in mind the twist is put in to the 
left, while to cut the reamer is turned to the right. 



72 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

The cutting edge of the reamer is illustrated by ''a, 
a, a, a, " Figure 25. But back from the cutting edge to 
the groove shown at "b, b, b," when filing should be 
left a little smaller which will act as clearance thus 
allowing the extreme cutting edge to come in contact 
more readily with the work. 

Harden as a twist drill and temper to a purple. 
Should the twist be put in a reamer as in a twist drill 
(which is put in to the right), the reamer will draw into 
the material too fast, and be liable to break it. Also 
bear in mind not to give too much clearance or the cut- 
ting edge will take hold of the material too readily and 
stick, for a i/2-inch reamer 1-32 clearance will be plenty 
and for smaller sizes less will do. When filing on the 
cutting edge have a thin flat iron plate with different 
size of holes in it to form a gauge and so regulate the 
clearance. File out the hollow grooves very smoothly 
and evenly so as not to leave any thick spots in the cut- 
ting edge. 

The Polishing Stick. 

A polishing stick is made by taking a piece of pine or 
other soft wood, which should be round, about II/2 inches 
in diameter and 15 inches long. Wrap a coarse sheet 
of emery cloth or sandpaper around it, then drive in 
two or three carpet tacks to hold it in place. This will 
be much handier than a piece of loose sandpaper. Do 
not use sandpaper after it becomes worn smooth, as it 
will not brighten the steel satisfactory in order to see 
the correct temper. 



CHAPTER IV. 

How to draw out an axe — Mill picks — Butcher knives — Fine 
springs — Dirt picks. 

How to Draw Out, Harden and Temper an Axe That 
Will Cleave a Hemlock Knot. 

Almost every country blacksmith has had more or 
less axes to draw out (as the saying is), but there are 
very few who have a reputation of being able to dress 
an axe so that it will cleave a hemlock knot, without 
breaking or otherwise having the cutting edge bent 
over. And yet how many axes have been thrown into 
the scrap pile, after coming through the process the 
blacksmith gave it, by being cracked sometimes half 
way across the bit and occasionally a piece dropping 
right out, and every blacksmith who has had any expe- 
rience repairing axes will know this statement to be 
true. I have known farmers and lumbermen who 
owned axes which were known to cleave a hemlock knot 
and still hold a good cutting edge, refuse to part with 
them when offered three times the amount that would 
purchase a new axe. I have had farmers offer me a 
dollar to dress one axe, while they could go to a hard- 
ware store and buy a new one for the same amount. 
''Why?" Because it would hold a keen edge and they 
could rely on it, and they were not afraid of breaking 
a piece out of the bit when chopping hard or frozen 
timber. 

I remember drawing out an axe for a farmer, and 

73 



74 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

after grinding it I told him to try it on all the hem- 
lock knots he could find. But being a little suspicious 
he asked me if I would go to the woods with him, which 
was but a short distance from the shop, and I consented 
to go. After reaching the woods I found some large 
knots and told him to go ahead and try his axe, but he 
hesitated and made no offer to do so, so I took the axe 
from him and chopped into a knot, and after striking 
a few good blows I handed him back the axe. The 
first thing he did was to examine the cutting edge as he 
was expecting to see a piece missing from it, but it was 
all there the same as it left the grindstone. Imagine 
his surprise. I saw him a few days after and the first 
thing he said was: ''I have been using the axe ever 
since and cutting every hemlock knot I could find and 
the axe is as good as ever." Reader, I am not relating 
this experience to fill up an extra page in this book, but 
to impress on your mind the benefit of making good 
tools, and in this case especially an axe. 

I will explain the way the ordinary blacksmith goes 
about to draw out an axe. He gets a low heat on the 
bit and commences to hammer it and entirely on the 
cutting edge. If the axe gets too wide he turns it up 
edgewise and drives it back straight again, sometimes 
loosening the steel, but works away until the axe is 
forged into a shape to suit him. Now he hardens and 
tempers it after this fashion, he places it in the fire, gets 
one corner at a white heat while the other is barely red, 
dips it in a tub of dirty water about an inch deep (but 
if it does not crack in the water it will shortly after). 
Then the temper runs down sometimes one color, other 
times another, while on the other hand the temper runs 
down so rapidly that the corners become soft and only 
the centre of the bit is tempered. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



75 



The causes for the axe cracking are — by uneven and 
overheating which is the main cause, while another 
cause will result from improper forging or hammering 
the steel unevenly when at a low heat, and so drawing 
or working the steel on the outside while the inside has 
not moved, and between the two there is a sort of tear- 
ing operation going on which will increase the tendency 
to crack when hardening. 

Now let us dress an axe properly as it should be done. 
An axe that is rather thick is best for the process, as it 
gives us stock to work on. After preparing the fire, 
having the coal well charred and large enough to heat 




b 
a 




Fig. 26. Lumberman's chopping axe, dotted lines, a and b, 
indicate how to avoid strains in the steel when dressing. 



the axe evenly the full width of the bit or cutting edge, 
heat evenly to a deep yellow; now commence to draw 
out by hammering, beginning at the cutting edge, going 
all the way across the bit, as indicated by dotted lines 
a, Figure 26, then turn over, going over this side the 



76 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

same way until the heat begins to get low and the edge 
is drawn as thin as is necessary for an ordinary chop- 
ping axe. Now we will take another heat, this time 1% 
inches back and to a good yellow heat, but instead of 
going over the edge as before, go back l^i inches from 
the cutting edge, as indicated at b, Figure 26, and ham- 
mer both sides the same. Now the axe has widened out, 
but instead of turning it up edgewise and striking it 
with the hammer, cut it off with a chisel to the proper 
width. (A little narrower will be best as the axe is not 
finished yet, and the steel will come as wide as is nec- 
essary in the finishing stage and will also save filing.) 
Now heat the axe again, this time to a very low heat, 
just hot enough so that it will be plainly seen to be red 
when put in a dark place, and hammer entirely and 
evenly all over the flat surface and both sides the same 
for 114 inches back after the same fashion as the first 
time, but this time hold the axe solid and level on the 
anvil and do not hammer the steel after it gets too cold, 
otherwise the tenacity that is being put in the steel with 
the hammer will be destroyed. The axe is now drawn 
out and after cooling off and filing the edges smooth, it 
is ready for the hardening and tempering. When ham- 
mering the axe in the finishing stage, about 15 good 
blows on each side will be enough. If the hammering is 
properly done at the right heat the steel will show a 
bright black gloss. 

To harden the axe, heat the bit slowly and very 
evenly not less than I14 inches back, to a cherry red or 
just enough to harden, dip deep into the hardening bath 
not less than IV2 inches, raising and lowering so as to 
soften gradually, thus causing no strain in the steel. 
Polish the hardened part bright, but as there is not 
enough heat left in the axe to force the temper to run 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 77 

down, draw it by holding well over the fire, heating 
very slowly and moving back and forth so as to insure 
an even temper (but be careful and do not let the ex- 
treme thin cutting edge draw the temper first), until 
the whole bit of the axe for 1% inches back will show 
a light blue^ then cool off and grind. 

An axe that is forged, hammered, hardened and 
tempered after these directions, will be free from all 
cracks and will hold a very keen cutting edge, and if 
broken in use will be done by carelessness. When dress- 
ing an axe, the shape of the bit will depend upon the 
user, as some want a bit very rounding, others want 
the bit almost square. 

When dressing double bitted axes, dress both ends 
before undertaking to harden and temper. When hard- 
ening and tempering be careful not to draw the temper 
in the first end when heating to harden the last end, 
but place the tempered end in water occasionally. A 
good chopping axe should be slightly thicker in the 
centre of the bit than at the corners, which will burst 
the chips more readily. 

Mill Picks. 

Mill picks are something that are very little under- 
stood by the average blacksmith, and I have known 
millers to send them 500 miles, in order that they might 
get them dressed and hardened properly. And as al- 
most every blacksmith would like to know how, I will 
give the process. When making mill picks use steel of 
medium high carbon, say 90 points, as mill picks require 
harder steel than ordinary tools, as they have to cut 
very hard material, while the blows are very light. 

There are difi:erent sizes of mill picks which depend 



78 



THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



on the miller who is going to use them, ranging in 
weight from 2 to 4 pounds, but the medium-sized pick 
of about 3 pounds weight is most used. There are also 
different styles of mill picks, some have an eye punched 
in them for a handle, while others are made to fit in a 
socket. The main object, however, is to have a mill 
pick drawn out thin and hardened properly, in order 
to do a great amount of cutting and hold a good cut- 
ting edge, without being ground often or having the 
corners continually breaking off, which is dangerous to 
the miller's hands and eyes. 

Now supposing some picks are to be dressed. The 




Fig. 27. Correct shape of mill pick. 



first thing to do is to draw the hardness by heating one 
end to a low red, before dressing the other end, other- 
wise there will be a tendency of the end held in the 
tongs to break off, when dressing the opposite end, un- 
less the picks are very thick. Heat the end to be 
dressed or drawn out, to a deep yellow heat (so that the 
steel will be worked clear through, thus leaving no 
strains which would afterwards cause cracks), draw it 
out thin to 3-16 of an inch thick on the cutting edge, 
tapering to % of an inch thick, V^ inch back, at the 
same time having the cutting edge barely as wide as 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 79 

the body of the mill pick. Now heat again to a low- 
dark red, have a hammer weighing not less than 3 
pounds, hold the pick perfectly solid and flat on the 
anvil without raising or lowering it, and strike 5 or 6 
good blows on the flat side, making sure that the ham- 
mer will fall on the extreme cutting edge, then turn 
over and go over that side the same way. Do not 
strike every blow in the same place but go over the 
whole flat surface of both sides evenly and do not ham- 
mer the steel after it becomes black, but heat again to a 
very dull red and strike 3 or 4 more blows on each side 
evenly, and it is done. If the edges have spread out a 
little w^ide or uneven, do not attempt to strike one 
blow on the edge, but if necessary to have them 
straight, file or grind, although it makes no difference 
should the cutting edge of the mill pick be a little 
wide, as all the miller wants is to have them cut good. 
Now one end is dressed, go over the other end exactly 
the same way (before undertaking to harden), the cut- 
ting edge is filed on the same as for an ordinary cold 
chisel. 

To harden a mill pick, heat evenly to a low cherry 
red or just hot enough to harden at least II/2 inches 
back from the cutting edge, then plunge into the hard- 
ening bath and cool until entirely cold. Then harden 
the opposite end after the same method, but be care- 
ful not to draw any temper in the end already hard- 
ened, and the pick is all ready for use. Do not draw 
any temper on mill picks as they will not be too hard 
if properly hardened. When hardening mill picks, 
harden one end at a time and never try to harden both 
ends at once. The right size of steel to use when mak- 
ing ordinary mill picks will be l^/o inches square, but 
for smaller sizes 1% inches square will do. 



80 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



Butcher Knives. 



There is a saying that has been going the rounds for 
a long time, which is: "Always use a file to make a 
butcher knife," but any blacksmith who believes in 
this saying or theory does very little thinking for him- 
self. I have seen dozens of butchers' knives made from 
files, but what were they like? They were stiff, with- 
out any spring to them, were easily broken and would 
not hold a good cutting edge, on account of the teeth 
in the file, and to have a good butcher knife it must be 
just the opposite — it must hold a keen edge and in- 
stead of breaking, it must be very pliable, as whale- 
bone. Although butcher knives are made almost en- 
tirely by machinery, machine or factory-made knives 
will not hold the keen cutting edge that a hand-made 
knife will when made from good steel and properly 
hardened and tempered. A great many machine-made 
butcher knives are made from poor and cheap steel, 
consequently they are sold cheap. 

To make a butcher knife, use steel of about 75 point 
carbon. The proper size of steel to use for an ordinary 
size butcher knife will be % by % inches. After the 
shape of the shank has been decided on, which may be 
flat, as a, Figure 28, forged or square as in Figure 
29. Now, for example, we make a knife 8 inches long 
in the blade. The first thing to do (after cutting off 
the steel the right length) will be, take a chisel and cut 
off at right angles, as c in Figure 28, to form the point. 
Now crook the steel edgewise in a circular shape as 
Figure 28, the depth of the crook being about % an 
inch, then get a deep r^d heat half the length of the 
blade and draw to a thin edge, at the same time ham- 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 81 

mering evenly from both sides of the steel, beginning 
at b, Figure 28, on the inside of the crook, then heat 
the other half, and draw the edge until the point is 
reached. The crook that was put in the steel edgewise 




Piece of steel bent, drilled and pointed to make 
butcher knife. 

has all come out and the knife is straight. Now flatten 
the point, making it thin and a little wider than the 
body of the knife. Never try to forge the point of the 
knife, but cut to shape with a chisel. Now take a very 
low heat the length of the blade of the knife, and ham- 
mer equally on both flat sides of the cutting edge to 
refine and pack the steel. Now heat again to the same 
low heat, but instead of hammering the cutting edge 




7 J 

J 



Fig. 29. Illustrating carving knife, without handle, and forged 
with a square shank. 

hammer in the centre of the blade, both sides evenly 
and the full length of the blade. Cool off and after 
filing the edges straight it is ready for hardening. 

In hardening the knife have the fire a long shape, 
which will heat more of the knife at once. Now put 
the knife in the fire with the cutting edge downward, 
and move the knife back and forth so as to get a very 
even heat the full length of the blade, just hot enough 
to harden. Then plunge lengthwise with the cutting 



82 THE TWSN112TH CENTURY 

edge down into the hardening bath and cool entirely, 
Now, if the knife has been forged and hammered evenly 
the whole length of the blade, it will not come out of 
the hardening bath perfectly straight, but there will 
be a crook in it. For explanation we will say there is 
a crook in it. Now take a polishing stick and brighten 
one side of the knife. To draw the temper, place flat- 



Fig. 30. Ordinary butcher's knife. 

wise over the fire (do not place the knife directly on 
the hot coals, but instead, hold about 2 inches above), 
with the brightened side up. Heat very slowly, at the 
same time moving back and forth to insure a very even 
temper; draw to a pale blue, but before cooling place 



< c J 



Fig, 31. Straight pointed knife. 

the knife on the anvil and take the crook out by strik- 
ing it with a hammer, then cool, and it is ready for the 
grindstone. The reason that the crook was taken out 
so easily is, when the knife was being heated to harden 
only two-thirds of the width of the blade was heated 
enough to harden, consequently the back of the knife 
remained soft. This, with what heat was in the knife 
after the temper was drawn, allowed the knife to bend 
without springing back. 

To have good success when making butcher knives, 
bear in mind to forge and hammer evenly on both flat 
sides, have a yellow heat when drawing the cutting 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 88 

^dge, and a very low heat when hammering for the last 
time, and never attempt to strike the knife edgewise in 
the last hammering. Remember that the hardening of 
the knife must be carefully done so as to harden the 
full length of the blade without leaving any unhard- 
ened spots; also, as much pains must be taken when 
tempering so as to have it evenly drawn and so avoid 
having hard or soft places. 

How to Make Gun, Revolver, Traps and All Fine 
Springs. 

Springs perform a very important part in mechani- 
cal appliances, and especially guns, revolvers, and traps 
of all kinds, but to make a good spring the process 
must be thoroughly understood. When making springs, 
steel of about 60 points carbon is best, and never use 
steel for spring making that exceeds 75 point carbon, 
and bear in mind when making a spring to make it as 
wide and as thin as possible according to the work it is 
to do. 

When making springs, as gun springs, in the first 
place forge the spring perfectly straight, but leave it 
a little less than the right width, also leave it a little 
thicker than the spring is to be when finished. Now 
heat the whole spring from end to end to a very low 
heat (say a dark dull red), and hammer with heavy 
blows evenly on both flat sides, being careful to keep 
the spring very straight without hammering the spring 
edgewise. As the hammering of the spring on the flat 
sides, when at a low heat, is to refine and pack the steel 
which is one of the greatest secrets in successful spring 
making. To bend the spring, heat it to a blood red 
(never exceeding a low cherry red), where the bend is 



84 



THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



to be, then bend to the proper shape. If at any time 
it is necessary to make a spring with a crook or offset 
in it edgewise, the crook must be put in the steel before 
the last hammering is done, so that the steel may be 
refined and packed by the hammer, thus increasing 
the tenacity of the spring, but do not hammer the 
steel below a certain heat, as the tenacity of the steel 
will be ruined when hammered too cold. 

There are different ways of tempering springs, but 
only the simple and most successful methods are given. 
To harden, heat the entire spring in the blaze of the 



a c 



Fig. 82. Illustrating the 

elastic strength of a 

well made spring. 




fire, very evenly to a cherry red or just enough to 
harden, then plunge into the hardening bath and cool 
off "dead cold." Then polish it bright. To temper, 
hold the spring edgewise 2 inches above the fire, and 
do not blow the fire, but heat very slowly, moving 
the spring back and forth and occasionally turning 
over to insure a very even temper, watching very close- 
ly until the spring has drawn to a ve-ry pale blue, al- 
most grey. Do not cool off in water as other tools after 
the temper is drawn, but lay it down somewhere away 
from a draft of cold air allowing it to cool off slowly 
on its own accord. This is the author's favorite way 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 85 

of tempering a spring, and a spring as Figure 32, made 
after these directions, which for example, is 2 inches 
long and II/4 inches between the ends c c, 1-16 thick 
and 5-16 wide, can be bent as indicated by dotted lines 
at a, until the ends meet, without fear of breaking or 
remaining bent, but instead will spring back exactly 
the same distance apart, as the ends were before being 
bent. 

Still another good way of tempering a spring, after 
being hardened as formerly mentioned, and which will 
save polishing. Hold the spring over the fire, placing 
it in a dark place now and again, until it shows a very 
dark red, just visible to the eye. Then lay down and 



Zl 



Fig. 33. Showing how trap springs are forged before being 
bent to shape. 

allow it to cool off on its own accord, but in tempering 
a spring after this method have a dark place close to 
the fire. 

When hardening or tempering 1 spring of any kind, 
hold it with the tongs at the extreme end, as the spring 
if held by the tongs in the centre, the place held di- 
rectly between the tongs will have a great tendency to 
remain soft, which would spoil the spring and cause it 
to bend out of its proper shape when put into use. And 
bear in mind to harden and temper the whole spring 
evenly from end to end. A great many blacksmiths 
harden a spring in oil; but the error of this way is, the 
steel must be heated to a higher heat to harden in oil 
than water or brine, which is sure to decrease the elas- 
tic strength of the spring. In large factories where 



86 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

springs are made in great quantities, they are heated to 
harden, in hot lead or in a furnace, while the temper is 
drawn in boiling oil, tallow, or hot air. The degree of 
heat required to draw the temper is registered by a 
pyrometer connected with the vat or furnace, which in- 
sures a very fine and evenly tempered spring. 

When making trap springs, or springs for a similar 
purpose after the fashion of Figure 32, have the spring 
at b a little wider than the rest of the spring and give 
it a short bend, which will increase the strength of the 
spring. Fine flat springs which have a long gradual 
bend when in use (especially for very light purposes), 
require no hardening or tempering as there will be 
enough spring to them, by simply hammering them 
equally on both sides when at a low heat. 

Dirt Picks. 

All tools of this description are used a great deal by 
railroad laborers, farmers and others, who work among 
gravel, hard ground, etc. Dirt picks are principally 
made from iron, while the ends are laid with steel 
which should be good ordinary tool steel of 75 points 
carbon. In dressing the ends, follow the instructions 
given in making or dressing a cold chisel, making sure 
to dip deep into the hardening bath, when hardening 
so as to give a foundation back from the cutting edge 
and keep the points or ends from bending and more 
especially if the pick is drawn out very thin, temper to 
a light blue. 

For laying picks, I will give some instructions to in- 
sure good results and so produce a good weld. The 
steel for this purpose should be %-inch octagon or 
square, for ordinary picks, but if the picks are of a 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



87 



large size larger steel should be used. In welding of 
"this kind always insert the steel into the iron, and 
don't make too long a weld, as a short one of reason- 
able length is best and much easier made. Always have 
plenty of stock when making a weld, so that the weld 
will need no upsetting in order to bring it to the right 
size. 

Now draw down the end of the steel that is to be in- 
serted in the iron in forming the weld, to a tapered or 
V-shape, and drawn to a thin square edge and having 
it at least ^ of an inch wider than the weld is to be; 
cut a little piece out of the center after a V-shape and 
put some nicks in the beveled part of the steel with the 
corner of the chisel, making it very rough as No. 1, 
Figure 34. Cutting a piece out of the center of the 





Fig. 34. Illustrating how ends are forged when laying dirt 
picks, in order to make a successful weld. 



steel enables it to go well up into the iron. Take the 
iron part which is to form the weld, after heating, split 
it with a hot chisel as far back as required, open the 
ends and draw down to a thin edge as No. 2, Figure 34. 
Now take a good heat on the iron and insert the steel 
while at a low heat into the opening of the iron, driv- 
ing the steel well up into the iron, then hammer the 



88 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

ends of the iron well down over the steel. (The nicks 
that were put in the steel will enable it to stay in the 
iron much better during the welding heat, than if left 
perfectly smooth.) The pick is now ready for the 
welding heat. Have the fire clean with plenty of well 
charred coal, heat the place to make the weld to a 
cherry red, then place plenty of fine powdered borax 
on it, then heat to a welding heat as high as the steel 
will stand, but no more. Bring from the fire and strike 
the end against the side of the anvil or strike the end 
with the hammer, driving the steel well up into the 




Fig. 35. How ends are placed together, showing plenty of 
stock to make the weld. 

iron, then strike the first few blows (to make the weld) 
lightly and on the flat surfaces of the iron, then ham- 
mer hard and fast and from all sides alike until the 
weld is completed. If the weld is made after these di- 
rections, it will be perfectly smooth and solid and will 
show no trace or opening where the steel was inserted 
in the iron. The reason it will show no opening in the 
weld is because the steel was left wider than the iron 
and when being welded was driven back, filling tha 
opening, that otherwise would have been there and so 
leaving the weld perfectly smooth and as solid as one 
piece. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 89 

Bear in mind that when making a weld after this de ■ 
scription, have the iron well down over the steel as in 
Figure 35, and so leave no opening to allow dirt and 
other ingredients to get in when taking the welding 
heat, as steel will not weld successfully if any foreign 
matter gets in between the welding surfaces, no matter 
whether the weld consists of iron and steel or two 
pieces of steel. Also remember when taking the weld- 
ing heat to keep plenty of fine powdered borax on it, so 
as not to allow the steel to become dry in the fire, and 
when making the weld strike the first three or four 
blows lightly, as the steel will unite more readily, than 
if the first few blows are struck very heavy. 

When welding two pieces of steel and one piece is 
harder than the other, always if possible insert the 
hard piece into the soft piece, otherwise the steel is 
more apt to get overheated. And also bear in mind to 
take the welding heat of the harder piece, instead of 
the softer piece. 



CHAPTER V. 

Machinists' tools — The use of asbestos and clay when harden.- 
ing tools — Boilermakers' tools. 

Machinists' Tools. 

Connected with the machinist's trade is a wide range 
of fine and complicated tools. Among them being lathe 
and planer tools, milling cutters, taps, dies, reamers, 
etc., and the toolsmith in a large shop who can forge, 
harden and temper these tools satisfactory will have a 
great many friends among the machinists, but should 
the toolsmith be otherwise, there is nothing that tries 
the temper and patience so much as to have a number 
of machinists continually around the fire and each one 
making a complaint that the tool would not do this, 
and it would not do that^ etc. 

When making lathe and planer tools, there is no def- 
inite rule to go by ''as to the shape," with the excep- 
tion of a few standard or ordinary tools, as shown in 
Figures 36 to 46, as the machinist has so many jobs of 
a different nature that he requires a tool of a special 
shape to suit the work, which he explains to the tool- 
smith or gives him a drawing of it, and sometimes a 
pattern of it made from wood. Steel of 1 per cent or 
100 point carbon is best for making lathe and planer 
tools, as these tools do their work by steady pressure. 
But nevertheless they must be properly forged, hard- 
ened and tempered, in order to stand the great strain 
that is continually bearing against them, and also to 

90 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 91 

hold a good cutting edge in order to save time, and do 
work of a very exact and skillful nature, especially in 
the finishing stage. 

Lathe tools of a flat surface, such as bent cutting oif 
tools and side tools, must be forged to shape and the 
offset put in before the last hammering is done. When 
making cutting off tools and other tools of a similar 
nature, always give plenty of clearance as illustrated 
in Figure 38, which shows the cutting edge a a little 




Fig. 36. Two ways of forging a diamond point lathe tool. 

wider than b, also wider than c, as shown in front 
view of the same figure, and bear in mind when forg- 
ing the tool leave it a little wider at the cutting edge 
than the exact width, as the hammering on the flat sur- 
face after the offset is put in, will bring the cutting 
edge to the right width. To more fully explain let us 
suppose the cutting edge of the tool is to be % of an 
inch in width, but in order to refine and pack the steel, 
we will have the cutting edge 5-16 of an inch wide be- 
fore undertaking to hammer on the flat surface. If 



92 



THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



the hammering does not flatten the steel to exactly the 
right size and so leave the cutting edge a trifle wider, 
so much the better, as the tool will have a little stock 
for grinding. 

All lathe and planer tools for ordinary work should 
be quenched or hardened about one inch back and ac- 




Fig. 87. The straight cutting off, or parting tool. 




Fig. 88. The left hand bent cutting off tool. 




Fig. 39. The right hand bent cutting off tool. 



cording to the cutting edge, as illustrated by dotted 
lines in Figures 36 to 45, and tempered to a dark straw 
or copper color. But should the tools have to cut very 
hard cast iron or other very hard material, harden and 
draw no temper. Should the tool still fail to cut the 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



93 



metal, use equal parts of powdered cyanide of potas- 
sium and prussiate of potash. To use this compound 
heat the tool as hot as if it was to be hardened, then 
place the heated, cutting edge of the tool into the pow- 
der, reheat again to a proper hardening heat and 
plunge into the hardening bath and cool off entirely. 




Fig. 40. The spring tool. 

When hardening large tools such as square corrugat- 
ing tools, and which have very fine teeth in the cutting 
end, as indicated in Figure 46, make sure when 
heating that the center of the cutting face is as hot as 
the outside or corners. And never heat carelessly or 
too fast, so that the corners will be at a white heat. 



7 



Fig. 41. The left hand side tool. 



while the center is barely red. But heat slowly and 
very evenly, until the whole face of the cutting end is 
just hot enough to harden, then plunge into the hard- 
ening bath and cool off entirely. Draw no temper. 



94 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Heat slowly and evenly until the whole face of the 
cutting end is just hot enough to harden, then plunge 
in the hardening bath and cool off. Ordinary corru- 
gating tools require no temper drawn. 



r 



Fig. 42. The inside boring tool. 



Air Hardening Steels for Lathe and Planer Tools. 

Cast steel for lathe and planer tools is to a certain 
extent done away with in large shops by the use of air 
or self-hardening steels. A certain amount of this 
steel is manufactured in sizes so that no forging of the 
tool is required, and by the use of a patent toolholder 
(made especially for certain sizes of the steel) is su- 



r 



Fig. 43. The inside ordinary thread tool. 

perior to a hand forged tool in some respects. But the 
toolsmith has an important work to do connected with 
air hardening steel, as he is called upon to cut it off in 
lengths and harden it, besides. As there is a limit to 
the sizes that are manufactured for immediate use the 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 95 

steel must be forged to the shape of the tool, while the 
forging and hardening of air hardening steel is some- 
what of a different nature to cast tool steel. Air hard- 
ening steel is not as a rule used for anything but for 
roughing lathe and planer tools, it being too hard to 
make into any tool which is to do its work by the use 



n 



-H 



Fig. 44. The inside square thread tool. 

of a hammer and also to make into any expensive tool 
such as milling cutters, as on account of its extreme 
hardness it cannot be machined or worked satisfactory. 
There are several makes and brands of air hardening 
steel, but some of the leading makes may be mentioned 
as, Sanderson's, Jessop's, Novo, Mushet and Blue Chip. 




Fig. 45. The broad-nose or finishing tool. 

When forging these brands into tools do not heat the 
steel above a bright yellow, especially Mushet or San- 
derson's, but the steel must be heated evenly clear 
through the bar, andlinless the tool is to be of a fine 
nature do the forging under the steam hammer, as the 
steel is too hard to forge with the hammer and sledge. 
The forging should be done as quickly as possible. 



96 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

while the heat is in the steel, and never attempt to 
bend or crook the steel when at a low heat, as it will 
be apt to crack or break in two, so be careful to have 
the steel at least at a deep red heat when it is to be 
bent. 

When any new brand comes in the shop be careful 
to look at the directions on the bar, as some brands are 
hardened a little different from others. For example, 
the cutting edge of a tool made from Blue Chips is 
hardened by being heated to a white heat until it com- 
mences to melt, when small bubbles or blisters will 




Fig. 46. The corrugating tool. 

form on the steel, then it is placed in a blast of cold 
air. To harden Mushet steel heat to a deep yellow and 
cool off in a blast of cold air, Sanderson's and Jessop's 
after the same process. Novo steel is hardened by heat- 
ing it to a white heat, then cooled off in a blast of cold 
air or may be quenched in oil. 

When hardening steel with a blast of cold air, have 
the pipe or nozzle (which conveys the air) as close to 
the fire as possible, and when cooling off the tool, have 
some arrangement to hold the point or cutting edge di- 
rectly in front of the blast. If this is not done the tool 
is apt to become turned to one side by the fonce of the 
blast. Also bear in mind if the steel is heated to a 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 97 

melting heat, as Blue Chip, be careful not to put the 
blast on too strong at first or it will blow the point off 

the tool. Instead put on the blast light and gradual 
until the steel begins to cool a little. Then turn on the 
blast to its full capacity and keep it on the tool until it 
is perfectly cold. 

A great deal is to be learnt in working air hardening 
steel in order to get the best results. But for the begin- 
ner who has had no experience, follow up the direc- 
tions given by the manufacturer. Should the directions 
fail to give good results do sonje experimenting. For 
illustration Novo brand of steel will give good results 
if heated to a white heat, then plunged into oil or boil- 
ing water, while Blue Chip will sometimes give better 
results if (after being heated to a melting point and 
cooled off in a blast of cold air) it is heated to a very 
low black red heat and allowed to cool of its own ac- 
cord. Yet there are other brands of steel which are 
hardened by heating to a light yellow heat, then placed 
in a cool place and allowed to cool slowly of its own 
accord. 

Never allow Mushet steel to come in contact with 
water or it will crack, although no visible heat can be 
seen in the steel. Figure 47 illustrates a heavy rough- 
ing tool, made from air hardening steel for turning 
locomotive tires, car axles, etc. Dotted line at a indi- 
cates how far back from the cutting edge, as b, the 
steel is to be heated when hardening. All roughing 
tools are made after the same shape. Bear in mind 
when forging air hardening steel, never try to forge it 
below a low cherry red and if at any time it is neces- 
sary to cut a bar into lengths, do not try to cut it cold, 
as it must be heated. 



98 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

How to Anneal Air Hardening Steel. 

Sometimes, although seldom the toolsmith is called 
upon to anneal air hardening steel, so that it may be 
turned or planed. This class of steel is very difficult to 
anneal on account of its extreme hardness. It must not 
be packed directly in slacked lime or ashes as cast tool 
steel, as it will cool off too quickly. To anneal air hard- 
ening steel, use an air tight heavy iron box, place the 
steel inside the box, then heat altogether to a deep red 
heat, then pack the box deep into slacked lime or 
ashes. If an iron box cannot be obtained, use a heavy 
iron pipe or band large enough to accommodate the 




Fig. 47. Heavy roughing tool. 

steel, without having the steel project out through the 
end. Also have two heavy flat iron plates large enough 
to cover the end of the pipe. Place, the steel in the 
pipe and heat the pipe, likewise the plates, as formerly 
mentioned, then pack the pipe into the lime in an up- 
right position, having one of the plates directly under 
the pipe, the other on top, which will keep the steel 
from coming in contact with the lime. By following 
this method the steel will keep hot a very long time, 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 99 

and thus give good results. To anneal a piece of 1-inch 
square air hardening steel will require from 12 to 15 
hours' time. 



Milling Cutters. 

These tools are very valuable to the machinist's 
trade, and the making of them requires great skill, val- 
uable time and good steel, which makes them very ex- 
pensive tools. If they are not properly forged and 
hardened there is a great loss. 

When forging a blank for a milling cutter (steel of 
about 90 point carbon is best) be sure and leave the 
blank a little larger every w^ay than the exact size of 
the milling cutter when finished, as a machinist always 
prefers a little extra stock, which enables him to ma- 
chine the tool with greater ease and less caution than 
if forged to the exact size of the tool. When forging a 
milling cutter heat the steel evenly to a good yellow, 
but do not heat too fast or the outside or corners will 
be at a white heat while the inside is barely red, and 
by unevenly heating will cause strains which will pro- 
duce a tendency to crack when hardening the milling 
cutter. 

If the milling cutter is large forge it to shape under 
the steam hammer being careful to forge it evenly 
from all sides alike and so work the steel clear 
through, but as it becomes finished reduce the heat. 
Tools such as milling cutters which are either round or 
almost of an equal size, cannot be refined, as the steel 
will remain at its natural state, consequently it is not 
desirable to finish at quite so low a heat as those of a 
flat surface. But if the milling cutter is very thin and 



100 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

flat then the steel may be refined by using a flatter on 
the fiat surface while at a low heat. 

After forging the milling cutter it must be annealed, 
which operation must not be neglected, as the whole 
blank must be heated again slow and evenly to a blood 
red (never exceeding a cherry red), then packed deep 
into slacked lime, allowing it to remain there until 
cold. Have the annealing box large enough so that it 
will contain plenty of lime to keep the heated steel 
away from the air. If there have been any slight 
strains left in the steel by forging the annealing will 
take them out and make the steel soft so that it can be 
worked with ease by the machinist. 

The hardening of a milling cutter after it has been 
machined to shape, is the process that must not be over- 
looked, as in the hardening the toolsmith must either 
succeed or spoil the tool. The milling cutter must be 
hardened properly without cracking, so that when put 
into use it will do a great amount of cutting by holding 
a good cutting edge, and so it is necessary that the 
toolsmith use great care when heating for hardening. 
If there is no heating furnace in the shop, and the mill- 
ing cutter is to be heated for hardening in the coal or 
open fire^ too much care cannot be used. 

When heating to harden in the open fire have the 
coal well charred and the fire plenty large enough. The 
top of the fire should be perfectly flat and the whole 
surface a perfectly and very evenly heated mass, place 
the cutter (if after the shape as b. Figure 48) flatway 
on the top or surface of the fire, now heat very slowly 
and evenly and turning it over occasionally until it is 
heated to a very even low cherry red, or just enough to 
harden, then plunge it into the hardening bath edge- 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 101 

Ways from a vertical position, allowing it to remair 
deep in tlie bath until quite cold, then dry off and pol 
ish bright. 

To temper the milling cutter, take two round bars ot 
iron about two feet long and just large enough to go 
through the hole in the center of the milling cutter, 
put one end of each iron into the fire and heat to a 
white heat to about two inches back from the end or 
according to the thickness of the tool. Now take one 
of the irons (leaving the other in the fire) and place 
the heated end directly in the center of the milling cut- 
ter, holding there until the temper in the teeth has 
drawn to a dark straw color. If the iron cools to a low 
heat before the temper is draw^n to the exact color use 
the other iron which was left in the fire to finish draw- 
ing the temper, then cool off. Should the milling cut- 
ter have very heavy teeth or if it is to cut very hard 
metal, it will not be necessary to draw any temper. 

If the milling cutter be to the shape and size, say 4 
inches long and 2% inches in diameter (or larger sizes) 
as a, Figure 48, a good way to heat for hardening in 
the open fire is to have a heavy iron pipe about 6 
inches long and plenty large enough for the cutter to 
go inside. A pipe about 1 inch wider than the diameter 
of the milling cutter will be about right. Place the pipe 
in the fire and build the coal on top of it, but do not 
build the fire over either end of the pipe. Instead leave 
the ends of the pipe open and do not allow the coal to 
get inside the pipe. By this method an opening is left 
clear through the fire. Heat the pipe to a bright cherry 
red the whole length, insert the milling cutter and heat 
it to the necessary heat to harden, then plunge into the 
hardening bath from a vertical position. But when 
heating to harden a milling cutter which has very fine 



302 



THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



teeth after this method, be very careful not to bmlse 
the fine cutting edges of the teeth against the pipe, h 
is better to have some arrangement to hold the milling 





Fig. 48. Plain or ordinary milling cutters. 



cutter up from the pipe. An iron bar placed through 
the center of the cutter with a bearing under each end 
will keep the cutter from coming in contact with the 
pipe. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 103 



The Use of Asbestos and Clay, When Hardening Mill- 
ing Cutters and Other Tools. 

Very often .a milling cutter is made with a thread 
through the center of the tool which must be kept soft, 
while the outside or teeth are hardened, and the way 
this process is accomplished is by the use of asbestos, 
which is packed well into the inside or thread, but 
make sure that the outside ends of the thread are well 
padded over without allowing the asbestos to come in 
contact with the cutting edges of the teeth of the mill- 
ing cutter. The asbestos is kept in place while harden- 
ing by the use of fine pliable wire, wrapped around the 
tool. After the hardening has been done and the asbes- 
tos taken out from the inside the thread will be quite 
soft. The reason the thread has remained soft while 
the teeth are hardened is because the water could not 
come in contact with the thread when being quenched, 
on account of the presence of the asbestos. 

I have saved a great many delicate and expensive 
milling cutters from cracking when hardening, by the 
use of asbestos. Take for example an angle end mill- 
ing cutter. That is made with a thin or delicate part 
extended from the main body of the tool. Now, al- 
though the tool may be very evenly heated and prop- 
erly hardened, it is still very liable to crack, and in 
some cases the thin or extended part will crack off in 
a solid ring. To stop a milling cutter of this kind from 
cracking, fill the hollow in the end, as in Figure 49, 
with asbestos, being careful not to cover any of the 
cutting edges of the teeth and hold the asbestos in 
place by the use of fine wire, while hardening. The 
reason the tool will not crack is, when quenching to 



104 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

harden only the teeth side comes in contact with the 
water which hardens, while the other side is kept soft 
as the asbestos keeps the water from coming in contact 
with the hot steel. 

Another example : Take a piece of steel 3 inches long 
and 1 inch thick, now an inch on each end is to be 
hardened, while the remaining inch in the center is to 
be kept soft, and to accomplish this process, wrap the 
center well with asbestos, keeping it in place by wind- 
ing some fine wire around it, or instead of using asbes- 
tos, wrap the steel around with clay, keeping it in 
place by the use of a thin piece of sheet metal wound 




Fig. 49. The angle end milling cutter. 

around it, then heat to harden and the results will be 
as formerly explained. 

Hardening Hollow Tools. 

"When hardening milling cutters as a, Figure 48 
spring threading dies or any similar tool, always 
quench them from a vertical or upright position, which 
will allow the steam and water to come up through the 
tool and cause the steel to be hardened more evenly. 
Should the tool be quenched from a horizontal position 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



105 



it will be impossible for the steam to escape, and which 
will keep the water from coming in contact with the 
hot steel. Thus when the water is held back by the 
steam there is a tendency for soft spots in the tool. 

As a rule steel workers never pay any attention to 
the steam when hardening, which is a great mistake, as 
many tools are partially if not altogether spoiled (more 
especially if the tools are of a delicate nature) by the 
great amount of steam which rises as soon as the hot 
steel comes in contact with the water. Delicate or fine 
tools of a hollow nature will sometimes warp or even 
crack, caused by steam and improper methods of 
quenching. 

When hardening a spring threading die, it is not 
necessary to harden the whole tool, but just far enough 
back from the thread to allow the temper to be drawn 
with safety, as indicated by dotted line in Figure 50. 



Fig. 




The spring threading die. 



106 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

To draw the temper, after being hardened as just men- 
tioned, hold the end or thread part of the tool above 
the fire and draw the temper very slowly and evenly 
(by keeping the tool turned around) to a dark straw 
color. 

The Hardening and Tempering of Hob Taps, Stay 
Bolt Taps and Similar Tools. 

In forging, annealing and hardening of long slender 
tools' such as hob taps, stay bolt taps, etc., too much 
care cannot be exercised, although as a rule these 
tools do not have to be forged, as the steel is generally 
obtained from the manufacturer the right size to al- 
low it to be machined into the tool. However, the steel 
should be well and evenly annealed, should it come di- 
rect from the manufacturer or should it be forged by 
the toolsmith. 

In annealing as well as hardening long slender tools 
they must be carefully handled when the tool is heated 
the whole length of itself or it will warp easily, also 
pack the tool very carefully when annealing so that it 
will have an equal bearing. 

When hardening get the tool to a very even heat, 
enough to harden the whole length of the thread, and 
when quenching dip deep in the center of the harden- 
ing bath from a perfectly upright position, allowing it 
to remain in the bath until perfectly cold. Bear in 
mind that when quenching a long slender tool, any 
variation from a perfectly upright position will have a 
tendency to warp the tool. When hardening do not 
harden the shank, as all that is required to be hardened 
is the cutting teeth or thread. 

To draw the temper, polish bright the grooves in the 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 107 

thread from end to end, have a couple of heavy 
wrought iron pipes or bands. Heat both in the fire to 
almost a white heat^ then remove one from the fire and 
put it in a convenient place, place the tap in the heated 
pipe and draw the tap back and forth to insure a very 
even temper from end to end. If one pipe is not suffi- 
cient to draw the temper, replace with the hot pipe 
that is in the fire_, then cool ofi: the tool. For all kinds 
of taps draw the temper to a dark straw color. Be sure 
w^hen drawing the temper not to use too small a pipe, 
or the extreme fine points of the thread will draw too 
quickly. For all ordinary taps use a pipe about five 
inches long and 3 inches inside diameter, while . the 
thickness of the pipe should not be less than % an inch 
or it will cool off too quickly. 

Sometimes when hardening a long slender tool only 
a certain part of it is to be hardened. For example, 
supposing we have a long slender tool 18 inches long 
and 1 inch thick. Now^ 6 inches in the center is to be 
hardened, while 6 inches at each end is to be kept soft. 
In a case of this kind take an iron pipe 7 inches long 
and 2 inches inside diameter, build the pipe into the 
fire a little above the surface of the forge, and heat the 
pipe evenly all around and from end to end. Now place 
the tool through the pipe, having the part which is to 
be hardened directly in the heated pipe, while the ends 
which are to be left unhardened will project from each 
end of the pipe, which will prevent them from becom- 
ing hot enough to harden. To keep the tool from warp- 
ing or bending (while being heated) place something 
under each end close to the pipe to form a bearing and 
also to keep the tool in the center of the pipe. If the 
tool is to be hardened to a very exact length wrap with 



108 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

asbestos at the ends of the part which is to be hard- 
ened, as the asbestos will prevent the steel from be- 
coming hardened while being quenched. To illustrate 
this more clearly, a a. Figure 51, represents the as- 
bestos, b the part of the tool which is to be hardened 
and c c the unhardened ends. 



c a b a c 

Fig. 51. Illustrating how certain parts of tools are hardened. 

Heating Furnaces. 

In large shops and factories where tools are made in 
great quantities, furnaces are used to heat steel, but 
principally for hardening purposes, and in a great 
many respects a furnace is superior to an open fire, as 
steel can be heated in a furnace very evenly and with 
less danger of it becoming overheated than if heated in 
an open fire. Tools of a long slender shape, such as 
stay bolt taps, and tools of a very wide and flat surface 
such as milling cutters, are best heated in a furnace. 
Different kinds of fuel are used for heating furnaces. 
The principal ones used are gas and oil. Gas, however, 
is preferred, as the furnace can be very readily regu- 
lated in order to heat the steel to any degree of tem- 
perature. There are many different makes of furnaces 
and different methods of operating them. 

Heated Lead for Hardening Purposes. 

The lead bath is extensively used for heating steel 
when hardening, and has many advantages that a fur- 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 109 

nace does not possess, as in the lead bath certain parts 
of tools may be heated in order to harden with ease, 
and the temper drawn in many ways which could not 
be accomplished with a furnace. 

When heating^ steel in lead, be sure to use a chem- 
ically pure lead, containing as little sulphur as possi- 
ble. Sometimes when heating in lead there is danger 
of it sticking to the tpol when hardening, but to over- 
come this difficulty make use of the following com- 
pound : Take a pound of powdered cyanide and dis- 
solve it in a gallon of boiling v/ater, afterwards allow- 
ing it to cool. Now dip the articles to be hardened in 
the liquid, remove them and allow to dry before plac- 
ing them in the lead. The liquid when allowed to dry 
on the tools will form a moisture on the tools when in 
the heated lead and prevent the lead from sticking. If 
lead is allowed to stick to the tool while hardening it 
will cause soft spots where the lead remains. When 
heating tools with fine projections have a fine brush 
and clean off the tool should any lead happen to stick 
to it. 

To obtain the best results when heating in lead, keep 
the lead stirred up, as it will always naturally be the 
hottest at the bottom. 

A lead bath is preferred to an ordinary heating fur- 
nace, as steel heated in lead will not raise a scale ; also 
if the lead is heated to the proper degree it will be im- 
possible to overheat the steel, consequently the steel 
will be very evenly heated. Should there be a great 
many small tools to harden at once, place them in a 
heavy w^ire basket or sieve and lower into the lead ; af- 
ter being heated they may be all quenched together. 



110 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



Boilermakers' Tools. 

Boilermakers' tools, although not so many in num- 
ber or of so complicated a nature as machinists' tools, 
should be well understood in order to forge, harden 
and temper them successfully. The principal tools used 
by boilermakers are beading tools, punches and dies, 
rivet snaps, flue expanders, drifts, calking tools and 
chisels. 

The Beading Tool. 

This is a tool which the average toolsmith does not 
understand, especially the hardening and tempering. 
Beading tools are principally made from %-iiich octa- 
gon steel of 75 point carbon. After forging, then fil- 
ing or grinding to the proper shape as in Figure 52, 



a 



Fig. 52. Correct shape of beading tool. 




C 



b 



harden as indicated, between the dotted lines, then 
temper to a light blue. A great many tool dressers 
harden the whole end of the tool from a to b, and the 
results in a great many such cases are that the tool 
breaks off at C Now I wish to say to the average tool- 
smith that the point acts only as a guide for the tool 
and it should be kept soft, as only the hollow in the 
tool at d does the work and only the part that requires 
to be hardened and tempered. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER Hi 

"When a great many of these tools have to be hard- 
ened and tempered at one time, a good way to do this 
work is by having a very small fire, just large enough 
to heat the part to be hardened. The fire should not be 
any wider than li/j inches across the surface, and the 
way to build a fire for this purpose is, after the fire is 
nicely started build up with wet coal, with the excep- 
tion of a very small place exactly in the center, v/hich 
should be kept well filled up with fine crushed coke or 
charred coal, keep the blast blowing gently as the fire 
is being built up. By this method a fire may be made 
very small. 

When only a few beading tools are to be hardened at 
one time and it is necessary to heat them in the ordi- 
nary fire, keep the point of the tool from b to c well 
cooled off in water. Do not allow it to become a white 
heat before cooling it off. Cool it often, not allowing it 
to become hotter than a low dull red. In this manner 
the point will be kept soft, while the part between a 
and c is heated to a cherry red so as to harden. When 
quenching dip in the hardening bath down as far as a. 
To draw the temper let it run down very slowly, or 
what is better, draw the temper over the fire. To ob- 
tain the best results from tempering the whole space 
between the dotted lines should show a light blue. 

Punches and Dies. 

When hardening punches and dies (for perforating 
boiler plate or iron) and when a great many of these 
tools are to be hardened at one time, there is nothing 
better to heat them in than heated lead, but as most of 
shops are without this convenience, likewise a heating 
furnace, we must resort to the open fire. However, 



il2 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

speed will be acquired and time saved when hardening 
and tempering in large numbers if the following meth- 
od is put into practice: Have the fire large and flat 
and well heated across the surface. Now place a plate 
of iron or boiler plate which should be about 9 inches 
in width, directly on top of the fire, bank the coal up 
around the edges of the plate tt) about 3 inches high 
and in the form of a circle, leaving the circle or open 
space on the plate about 5 or 6 inches across. Now 
place as many punches or dies on the hot plate inside 
the circle with the cutting edge up as is convenient. 
Then place another plate over them, allowing it to rest 
on the bank of coal which will form a furnace. Turn 
on the blast slowly and as the punches or dies become 
hot enough to harden, quench them and replace with 
others until all are hardened. 

To draw the temper, polish bright and place them on 
a hot place with the cutting edge upwards and allow 
to remain until the necessary color appears on the cut- 
ting edge. Then cool off. For a punch allow the tem- 
per to draw to a light blue. For a die a dark straw 
will be good. When heating small punches, and dies 
for hardening as Figure 53, heat the whole tool and 
quench from a vertical position. 

Flue Expanders. _ 

"When hardening long flue expanders pins, as Figure 
54, follow the instructions as given in hardening hob 
taps, stay bolt taps, etc., but harden the whole length 
of the tool from a to b, while the temper must be 
drawn to a dark blue if the right kind of steel is used, 
which should be about 75 points carbon, likewise all 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



113 



small parts of flue expanders should be tempered to a 
dark blue. 

All small parts of flue expanders may be heated to 
harden, by placing them on a hot plate of iron. The 
plate of iron being placed directly on the surface of 
the fire and heated to a light yellow, a slight hollow in 



/ \ , 





Fig. 53. Punch and die for perforating boiler plate, iron, etc. 

the irpn plate will be best, which will keep the small 
parts together, and also keep them from rolling off the 
plate, but bear in mind to occasionally turn the tools 
over in order that they will be heated evenly. To draw 
the temper can be done somewhat after the same 



zi 



Fig. 54. The expander pin. 



method as heating to harden, but do not have the plate 
of iron nearly so hot, as a low dull red heat in the plate 
will be sufficient to draw the temper. However, keep 
the tools well turned over in order that they will be 
evenly tempered. 



114 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Drifts, Rivet Snaps, Calking Tools and Chisels. 

When making a boilermaker's drift it must not be 
hardened or tempered or it will break easily. It should 
be forged to a long gradual taper very round and 
smooth. For a half inch drift take a piece of % round 
or octagon steely draw it down to 1/4 of an inch at the 
small end and tapering back to % at the large end, 
while the length is 5% inches. 




Fig. 55. The boilermaker's drift. 

Rivet snaps, which are used for rounding the heads 
of rivets when riveting, are made from % octagon 
steel. The end as marked a. Figure 56, is made by up- 
setting the steel, while the hollow in the end illustrated 
by dotted lines is generally made -by a machinist by 
turning it to shape in the lathe. Harden and temper 
it after the fashion of a cold chisel, draw the temper 
evenly to a light blue by gradually and slowly turning 
the tool around above the fire. 

Calking tools are made somewhat like a cold chisel, 
with the exception that the bevel of a calking tool is on 
one side only, the other side being perfectly straight 
with the body of the tool. 

Boilermakers' chisels will be found mentioned in an- 
other part of this book. 

Hardening Shear Blades. 

When hardening blades to shear boiler plate or iron, 
heat the cutting edge only (say for 1 inch back) by 
drawing back and forth through the fire, making sure 
to get a very even heat from end to end, then quench 
in the hardening bath from a vertical position and cool 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



115 



off entirely. When tempering, polish bright and draw 
the temper to a purple by moving back and forth over 
the fire or on a hot plate of iron, being careful to get a 
very even temper, then cool off. Sometimes, although 
seldom a shear blade is made with two cutting edges 
instead of one, so in a case of this kind, heat the whole 
tool evenly from end to end when hardening, after- 
wards tempering as already mentioned. 




o 

s 






be 




CHAPTER VI. 

Woodworkers' and carpenters' tools. 

One of the greatest secrets of success connected with 
woodworkers' tools, is to be able to make them so that 
they will hold a keen cutting edge. Woodworkers' 
tools are made now almost entirely of steel, with a few 
exceptions, such as a carpenter's chisel, which is made 
from iron and laid with steel. But when laying a car- 
penter's chisel or any similar tool don't select any 
piece of scrap steel that might chance to be handy, 
such as an old file because it is of a flat shape, but get 
the best steel of about 75 points carbon. If there is 
no flat piece of good steel in the shop near the shape of 
the chisel, forge a piece of octagon down flat to near 
the shape the chisel is to be, as it is always better to 
do a little hard work; spend a little extra time and 
produce a good tool, in order to get a good reputation. 

Laying a Caxpenter's Chisel. 

When making the weld upset the iron and steel in 
order to have plenty of stock, and when forging the 
scarf for a separate weld have it a little rounding as a, 
Figure 58, but do not leave any hollows in the scarf, 
as b. Figure 58, for dirt and slag to get into. Before 
taking the welding heat prepare the fire, by having the 
coal well charred and the gas and sulphur taken out. 
Now heat the iron to a raw heat and take a good borax 

116 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



117 



heat on the steel, after drawing from the fire (before 
placing together to make the weld), strike the ends on 
the anvil to knock off all foreign substance. When 
hammering to make the weld strike the first two or 
three blows lightly, then with heavy blows, making it 
a point to finish the weld by striking on the flat side 
when at a low heat. Also bear in mind that when ham- 
mering to make the weld strike the first few blows di- 




The correct method. 

rectly in the center, which will weld the center first 
and force all slag and foreign matter out. Otherwise 
if the ends are welded first the slag will be forced into 
the center and cannot get out, which would keep the 
parts from uniting or welding. 

After welding to finish the chisel follow the direc- 



The wrong method. 



Fig. 58. Illustrating methods of scarfing steel for 
separate welding. 

tions as mentioned in making a cold chisel, after hard-^ 
ening draw the temper to a dark blue. These direc- 
tions will apply to all wood chisels, plane bits, etc. 
When making or repairing any tool with a beveled 



113 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

cutting edge, such as a framing chisel, Figure 59, forge 
the bevel to shape as indicated by a, which will save a 
great amount of filing or grinding, and the tool will be 
just as good if it is hammered when at a low heat on 
the flat and beveled surfaces only. Harden and temper 
all ordinary woodworkers' chisels, at least 1% inches 
back from the cutting edge. 

a 




I 




Fig. 59. The framing chisel. 

The Screw Driver. 

A good screw driver is a tool which is prized by al- 
most every mechanic who uses one, but more especially 
by woodworkers, and there are very few blacksmiths 
or tool dressers capable of making one to give perfect 
satisfaction, as the screw driver will generally break 
or twist when coming in contact with hard screw driv- 
ing. 

When making one select good steel of 75 points car- 
bon. After it is forged to the correct shape for an or- 
dinary screw driver as Figure 60, strike it a few good 



Fig. 60. Correct shape of ordinary screw driver 
without handle. 

blows on each flat side of the screw driving edge while 
at a low heat. Then harden and allow the temper to 
draw to a grey, cool off and you will have a screw 
driver that will give unlimited satisfaction. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 119 



How to Make a Draw Knife. 

A draw knife is a very handy tool for woodworkers, 
and is also used a great deal in general blacksmith 
shops. Although draw knives are made almost exclu- 
sively in large tool factories, they are as a rule inferior 
to one made properly by hand and from good steel. 
Draw knives vary in shape and size according to the 
work they are to do, but also a great deal depends on 
the fancy of the woodworker who is to use it. 

To make a draw knife for ordinary use and which 
will answer mostly all purposes take a piece of steel of 
75 points carbon, 9 inches long, % thick and % wide. 
To forge, first of all heat and bend the steel edgewise 
in a circular shape as in Figure 61, then draw down 
the cutting edge from the inside of the bend to withiii 
an inch of each end, indicated by a a, which will 
bring the knife back straight again. Now fuller in :.s 
illustrated by dotted lines a,, a, then draw down the 
ends to form the shanks as b, b. Now draw the bevel 
on the back of the knife which Avill crook the knife 
edgewise again, but it does not signify, as the knife 
will come straight again before it is finished. Now weld 
on pieces to the shanks to form the handles, but in- 
stead of welding on straight, then bending, take a 
piece of small round iron 1/4 thick, upset the end of the 
iron and weld as illustrated at c, c. After welding, 
bend the handles up a little at right angles in order to 
allow the draw knife to be finished (as it must be done 
in the open fire). To finish the knife, heat the whole 
length of the cutting edge of the knife to a low dull 
red, then hammer the whole flat surface of the cutting 
edge from end to end, then turn over the knife and 



120 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

hammer the other side the same way. Now take an- 
other very low heat as before, but instead of hammer- 
ing directly on the cutting edge, hammer in the center 
of the blade and on both sides the same. After ham- 
mering the knife has come straight again, but if it is 
not exactly straight and instead there is a little full- 
ness in the cutting edge it will be better than if per- 
fectly straight. When making an ordinary draw knife 
have the under side very flat. 

To harden the draw knife, have the fire wide or in a 
long shape, with the coal well charred and loose. Place 
the knife in the fire with the cutting edge downwards, 
turn the blast on very slow and move the knife back 
and forth through the fire to insure a very even heat 
the full length of the cutting edge. Then quench by 
plunging into the hardening bath with the cutting edge 
downwards, and cool off entirely. If the knife was well 
forged and hammered evenly on both sides the knife 
will come out of the hardening bath perfectly straight, 
but otherwise there w^ill be a crook in it flatwise. How- 
ever, supposing there is a crook in it, polish one side 
bright and draw the temper to a light blue by hold- 
ing the knife flatwise over the fire and moving back 
and forth in order to get a very even temper, ^'but be- 
fore cooling off" place the draw knife on the anvil and 
take the crook out by striking it with the hammer. The 
reason the crook is taken out so easy is because only 
two-thirds of the knife was hardened, the back of the 
knife remaining unhardened, which along with the 
heat being in the knife, allows the hardened and tem- 
pered part to bend without springing back, now cool 
oft* and the knife is ready to grind. 

After the tempering is done, to bend the handles to 
shape, heat to a dull red, being careful not to draw the 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



121 



temper in the main body of the knife. This will be 
overcome if the body of the knife is placed in water 
or by keeping it cool with a wet rag or sponge. 

Piece of steel bent, to make draw knife. 






c c 

Illustrating, cutting edge drawn, back beveled and 
shanks forged. 




y 



d d 

Draw knife completed with handles welded on. 
Fig. 61. Showing how to make a draw knife. 

To hold the handles on a draw knife, generally the 
shanks are riveted at d, d, but what is better, cut a 
thread on the ends of the shanks and fasten the han- 
dles on by the use of a small nut and washer. 



CHAPTER VIL 

Stonecutters' tools for granite and marble. 

The making and sharpening of stonecutters' tools is 
a very important branch of the toolsmith's art, and 
first class tool dressers of stonecutters' tools are scarce. 
Although the greatest obstacle to be overcome in con- 
nection with stonecutters' tools, after having a thor- 
ough knowledge as regards the nature of steel, is to 
know the shape and what temper to give. But other- 
wise the steel is worked practically the same as in 
making a cold chisel, or any other flat tool which is 
to have a cutting edge. 

There are many branches to the stonecutter's trade, 
which varies according to the class of stone or rock the 
stonecutter is to cut or work on, as some classes of 
stone are much harder than others, consequently there 
is a great difference in the ways of cutting different 
classes of stone, and also as much difference in the 
shape and temper of the tools. The most common 
classes of stone which are cut and used for building 
purposes are granite, marble, limestone and sandstone. 

Granite Cutters' Tools. 

The tools principally used to cut granite are points, 
chisels, bush hammers, mash hammers, granite ham- 
mers, bull sets and bull chisels. 

122 



rOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



123 



In Fig. 62 is illustrated the correct shape of a point 
and chisel, which are drawn down very thin at the 
extreme cutting edge but with a very short taper. 
When dressing chisels, keep a very coarse file on hand 
to straighten the cutting edge after hammering. Points 
and chisels are made as a rule from % octagon steel, 
but points will be better if made from % square, as a 
point made from square steel will be held much easier 
to the stone, and will not twist round in the hand so 
easy as if made from octagon steel. 




^ 




Fig. 62. Correct shape of granite point and chisel. 



When hardening points and chisels, it is not neces- 
sary to heat them hot enough to harden any farther 
back than % inch, but be careful when heating so as 
not to get the extreme thin cutting edge too hot. 
When quenching to harden dip deep into the hardening 
bath to at least one inch, so that the temper will draw 
very slowly to a dark straw, which is good for all 
ordinary granite tools. But if the granite is excep- 
tionally hard, draw no temper on the chisels. 



124 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



The Granite Drill. 

Fig. 63 illustrates front and side views of a granite 
hand drill, which are used almost entirely in quarry- 
ing granite, and is made from % octagon steel. The 
shank of the drill is drawn down to % inch round 
and 4^2 inches long. The bit is forged to a square 
or diamond flat point, being left 1-16 thick on the 
cutting edge and % wide, which gives the drill a good 
clearance and enables it to cut much better and faster, 
and will not get fast in the hole. Harden and temper 
as a point or chisel already mentioned. A drill forged. 



Fig. 63. The granite hand drill, illustrating flat and side 
views of the bit. 

hammered, hardened and tempered properly, will drill 
two holes 3I/2 inches deep. I have had them put in as 
many as four holes 3%- inches deep, but a drill im- 
properly hardened or overheated will not put in one 
hole, besides tiring the driller much quicker. 

Bull Sets and Bull Chisels. 

Bull sets and chisels are dressed and hardened as a 
stone hammer, with the exception that only one end 
is dressed, the other end being a chisel head which is 
left unhardened for the sledge to strike upon. A bull 
set is made the same shape as the face end of a stone 
hammer. The bull chisel resembles the flat or tapered 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



125 



end. Stone hammers will be found fully explained 
and illustrated in another chapter of this book. 

The Granite Biish Hammer. 

The cutting part of a granite bush hammer is com- 
prised of thin flat blades, which are held in place by 




v^ 



V 



□ 



Front view. 



U Li 



A 



Side view. 




The blade. 
Fig. 64. The granite bush hammer. 



126 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

two bolts going through the blades and also through 
the hammer. The blades are taken out to sharpen, as 
shown at a, Fig. 64, the cutting edge of the blade, 
which consists of a very short level from each side, is 
forged or hammered to sharpen, while the corners are 
left somewhat rounding, which keeps- them from break- 
ing off, as shown in figure at b. When sharpening be 
careful to keep the blades perfectly straight and have 
the cutting edge beveled equally from both sides, also 
bear in mind that the blades should all be exactly the 
same length after being sharpened and replaced in 
the hammer, as illustrated by dotted line at c, other- 
wise should the blades be uneven the hammer will not 
do good work, while the blades will have a tendency 
to break at the cutting edge. 

In order to make the corners rounding when sharp- 
ening, strike a blow on the corners edgewise before 
hammering on the beveied surface. Then the steel will 
be refined and the cutting edge sharpened by striking 
every blow on the beveled surface. After hammering, 
file the edges straight with a coarse file. 

As the cutting edge of the blade is very thin and 
wide, be very careful when heating to harden by hav- 
ing a very even heat. Heat hot enough to harden 
about % of an inch back from the cutting edge, but 
when quenching dip the blade to at least 1 inch deep, 
then polish one side bright and draw the temper over 
the fire, moving the blade sideways back and forth 
to insure a very even temper, draw to a light straw, 
then cool off. 

Some bush hammers differ slightly from others, ow- 
ing to the number of blades they contain. The one 
illustrated in Fig. 64 is considered a coarse cutting 
hammer. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKEB 127 



The Granite Hammer. 

A granite hammer resembles an ordinary stone ham- 
mer, with the exception that both ends of a granite 
hammer is drawn down very tapering to an extreme 
sharp cutting edge, as Fig. 65. After hardening, tem- 
per to a light straw. 




Fig. 65. The granite hammer. 

Granite Cutters' Mash Hammer. 

When making a granite cutter's mash hammer, use 
good steel of 75 point carbon, and 1% inches square. 
When forging, do not put in a large oval eye as other 
hammers, but instead punch a small round eye not 
exceeding % of an inch in diameter, which is about 
the right size. The ends of a mash hammer are beveled 
down from the eye on the top and sides, the bottom 
side is left perfectly flat. The face at each end is 
also on a bevel^ which should be dressed a little full in 
the center and the corners left very rounding. Harden 
both ends as mentioned in making hammers in another 
chapter of this book, but after proper hardening it 
is not necessary to draw any temper as there are no 
sharp corners to break off. Fig. 66 illustrates the cor- 
rect shape of a mash hammer. 



128 



THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



The Granite Tool Sharpener's Hammer and Anvil 
Stake. 

When sharpening granite tools, the toolsmith should 
use a bevel face hammer and anvil stake, as Figures 




Fig. 66. Granite cutters' mash hammer. 




Fig. 67. The granite tool sharpeners' hammer. 

67 and 68. These tools are a great advantage over 
an ordinary flat face hammer and the plain anvil, and 
after a little practice in use the work will be performed 
much easier, quicker and neater. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



129 



The stake sits in the square hole of the anvil and 
should be kept perfectly firm, by driving a flat key 
through the shank illustrated at b, the shank being 
made long enough to project through the anvil 1% 
inches. Harden the face surface of the stake all over 
but not very deep. Be careful when heating to harden 



a\ 






a 







Fig. 68. The anvil stake. 



so as to get a very even heat in order to harden the 
center of the face, and do not heat too quick or the 
corners will become overheated. The beveled front 
side of the stake at a will be found much better than 
if made perfectly straight for cutting off the ends of 
broken tools and uneven edges. 

To make a granite tool sharpener's hammer, use 



ISO THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

sted 1% inches square. To harden and temper follow 
the directions given in '' Hardening and tempering a 
hammer" in another chapter. 

Marble Cutters' Tools. 

Tools for cutting marble are in a great many ways 
the same as those used to cut granite, with the excep- 
tion that the temper is left a little harder, say, a very 



Gj 



Fig. 69. Marble lettering tool. 

light straw. Lettering tools are drawn out very thin, 
as Fig. 69, but owing to the thinness be very careful 
when heating, and make sure when dressing to always 
strike the last few blows on the flat side only, when at. 



(H 




Fig. 70. Marble tooth chisel. 

a very low heat. Tooth or ordinary plain chisels are 
not drawn out so thin as lettering tools. When making 
or dressing tooth chisels, the teeth are filed in after 
the hammering is done. 



CHAPTER VIII. . 

Stone cutters' tools continued, for limestone and sandstone- 
Stone lathe and planer tools. 

Limestone Cutters' Tools. 

As limestone is of a soft nature, the tools used to 
cut it are of a very different shape and temper to 
those used for hard stone such as granite or marble. 
In cutting soft stone of any description wooden mal- 
lets are used, consequently the heads of the tools are 
made broad and a little rounding, so as not to cut or 
bruise the mallet, as illustrated in Fig. 71. This class 
of tools is known as ''mallet headed tools." 

The tools used principally for cutting limestone are 
plain and tooth chisels^ points, pitching tools, hand and 
ball drills, tooth axes and bush hammers. When mak- 
ing any of these tools use steel of 75 points carbon. 

Plain and Tooth Chisels and Points. 

Chisels and points are made chiefly from % octagon 
steel. When making chisels, if the chisel is to be nar- 
row forge the head first, but should the chisel neces- 
sarily have to be made wide, the chisel end should be 
forged first, as when forging wide chisels the steel will 
have to be upset (according to the width of the chisel) 
before drawing down to a thin cutting edge. The 
teeth are put in tooth chisels with a punch machine, 
after the hammering is done on the flat surface, and 
then filed to an extreme sharp point. 

131 



132 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

When hardening chisels be careful to get a very 
even heat all along the cutting edge and dip in the 
hardening bath not less than one inch; polish bright 
and draw the temper to a very pale blue, which is the 
right temper for all limestone tools. 






Fig. 71, Plain and tooth chisels for limestone. 

Points are drawn doWn to almost a square point. 
When hardening dip deep into the bath, and draw the 
temper so that it may be seieu at least % of an inch 
back from the cUtHlng edge, otherwise should the tem- 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 133 

per run down very fast so that only the extreme point 
becomes tempered, the point will be easily bent and 
broken. 








Fig. 72. The limestone point. 

Pitching Tool. 

A pitching tool is made from one inch octagon steel, 
but to form the cutting edge the steel must be upset a 
great deal. The cutting edge of a pitching tool for all 
soft stone, should be slightly beveled as indicated by 
a, Fig. 73. The cutting edge of a granite pitching tool 
will be best if left perfectly straight. 





Fig. 73. The pitching tool. 

Hand and Ball E|rills. 

Hand drills for limestone are made on the same prin- 
ciple as hand drills for granite (see Fig. 63) with the 
exception that the bit on a drill for limestone is drawn 
out much thinner and to a sharp cutting edge, the' 
cutting edge being made slightly rounding. 

Ball drills are made by taking a bar of iron about 
5 feet long and 1% inches in diameter, then welding a 
piece of % octagon cast steel at each end, afterwards 



134 



THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



drawing out as a hand drill, thus having a drill at 
each end. But bear in mind that the drill on one end 
should be %. the other %. A ball drill is used for 
drilling by raising it up, then allowing it to drop 
down from a vertical position, the larger drill on one 
end being to start the hole, and the smaller one at the 
opposite end being used to finish. Thus the large drill 
gives clearance to the smaller drill, which prevents it 
from sticking in the hole. After hardening, draw the 
temper to a pale blue. 

The Tooth Axe. 

The tooth axe is a tool used a great deal by lime- 
stone cutters, and which has the cutting teeth at each 
end as illustrated in Fig. 74. To make a tooth axe 





iig. 74. Side and end views of tooth axe. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 135 

take a piece of steel 2% by V/o and 5% inches long. 
After the hole is punched, when drawing down the 
ends allow the steel to gradually widen out towards 
the cutting edge. Draw down both ends to a flat and 
sharp cutting edge before undertaking to cut in the 
teeth. 

Before cutting in the teeth, have a block of wood or 
some other convenience to rest one end of the tooth 
axe on while cutting the teeth in the opposite end 
and so keep the cutting edges of the tooth axe from 
becoming bent or bruised up. As some tooth axes have 
more teeth in one end than the other, measure off and 
nick in a little with a sharp cold chisel where the teeth 
have to be cut in. Now take a deep red heat and cut 
in with a thin splitting chisel as deep as is necessary 
at the nicks as measured off, afterwards cutting the 
pieces out at right and left angles and the shape of 
the teeth will be formed. But bear in mind when 
cutting the teeth make sure that the outside teeth, as 
a a, Fig. 74, are a little the largest or heaviest, which 
will add strength and keep them from breaking off 
(owing to the extra hard usage) when in use. 

Finish at a low heat by placing a flatter on the flat 
surface and let the helper strike it a few good blows, 
which will straighten the teeth and add strength and 
tenacity to the steel, allow the tooth axe to cool off, 
then file off all roughness between the teeth by using a 
three-cornered file, also file the teeth to an extreme 
sharp point, making sure that all the teeth are in a 
straight line and exactly the same length. 

When hardening, heat all the teeth evenly, being 
careful not to overhe.at the corner or outside teeth, 
dip to quench in the bath to about li/4 inches deep, and 
draw the temper over the fire, moving back and forth 



136 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

in a sideward motion to insure a very even pale blue 
temper. 

The Limestone Bush Hammer. 

To make a bush hammer that is to give good satis- 
faction, requires great skill and care in forging, hard- 
ening and tempering, but if these instructions are fol- 
lowed closely good results will follow. To make one, 
use steel 2 inches square and 7 inches long; after 
punching the hole, which should be small and almost 



Fig. 75. The limestone bush hammer. 

round (say % in. diameter), now before cutting in the 
teeth have the end of the hammer perfectly square and 
flat, and to form the outside of the teeth the hammer 
should be beveled equally on all four sides as shown 
in Fig. 76. But remember that after the end of the 
hammer is forged, and the teeth are to be cut in, never 
heat above a bright cherry red, otherwise, if a very 
high heat is used when cutting in the teeth, the teeth 
will not hold a good cutting edge, as there is no way 
to refine the steel. 

Bush hammers differ somewhat, by having different 
numbers of teeth, which range from 16 teeth or 4 cuts 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



137 



to 144 teeth or 12 cuts. The one illustrated represents 
a 4-cut hammer. To put in the teeth first measure off 
into squares according to the number of teeth re- 
quired, and nick in with a sharp edged cold chisel; 
now heat the hammer to a cherry red and proceed to 
cut in the teeth by cutting in at the nicks with a 
thick edge chisel, which will form the point of the 
teeth. Heat again; this time take a very thin edged 
splitting chisel and cut in to the depth required, which 
will vary according to the size of the teeth, but for a 
4-cut hammer, cut in to % of an inch deep. The first 
end of the hammer may have the teeth cut in by letting 




Fig. 76. Illustrating how bush hammer is forged before 
cutting in the teeth. 



the opposite end rest on the anvil, but to cut the teeth 
in the other end the hammer will have to be placed 
on a block of wood or some other convenience, which 
will not interfere with the teeth. 

After the teeth have been cut in they will have to be 
filed to a sharp square point by using a flat feather- 
edge file, thus, ^ . A file of this description will go 
much deeper into the cuts than an ordinary three- 
cornered file. When filing be careful to keep all the 



138 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

teeth the same length. In large up-to-date tool shops 
the teeth are put in by the use of a planer, but in small 
or ordinary shops the teeth must be put in by the use 
of a chisel and file. 

When hardening, heat to a very even heat just 
enough to harden, being careful that the corners do 
not become overheated by heating too fast, and also 
watch the extreme points of the teeth for fear they 
become overheated. Although only the teeth are 
necessary to be hardened, it is always best to 
have plenty of heat back of the teeth in the 
main body of the hammer (which should not be hot 
enough to harden, and so should not exceed a low 
blood red), which is necessary to drive down the tem- 
per, as the temper on the inside teeth cannot be drawn 
over the fire unless extreme great care is exercised. 
After hardening by dipping vertically in the bath to 
the depth of almost one inch, moving up and down a 
little at the same time in order to soften gradually, 
then polish up bright as well as possible and allow 
the temper to run down in the teeth to a very light 
blue. 

When tempering bush hammers, as a rule, the teeth 
in the centre are apt to draw the temper first, while 
the corner teeth are yet hard. To overcome this dif- 
ficulty, take a small piece of wet rag or sponge fast- 
ened to a piece of wire, commonly known as a swab, 
and as soon as the temper in the centre teeth draws to 
a light blue, place the wet swab directly on the tem- 
pered part. This will hold the temper in check in 
the centre teeth until the outside teeth draw to the 
proper temper. 

Harden and temper both ends of the hammer the 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



139 



same, but when hardening and tempering the last end 
be careful not to draw the temper in the opposite end 
(which is already hardened and tempered), which can 
be overcome by dipping in water occasionally. 



Sandstone Cutters' Tools. 

Sandstone, although of a soft nature, differs some- 
what from limestone, it being of a very sandy composi- 
tion, while limestone is in the nature of very hard clay. 
Tools properly made for limestone will remain sharp a 
long time, but tools for sandstone wear away very 
fast. The tools used to cut sandstone are practically 
the same as those for cutting limestone, the points and 
plain chisels being the same, but tooth chisels differ 
somewhat as the teeth are left flat, as shown in Fig. 
77, while tooth chisels for limestone are filed to a 




Fig. 77. Showing sandstone tooth chisel and splitting tool. 

sharp point. The teeth in sandstone tooth chisels are 
put in with a punch machine after the last hammering 
is done. 

When dressing plain or tooth chisels for sandstone, 
be careful to leave them a little rounding in the cutting 



140 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

edge, as these tools when cutting sandstone are natur- 
ally inclined to become hollowing in the centre, and 
more especially in wide chisels. When tempering sand- 
stone tools let the temper draw to a light blue, but 
when tempering very wide chisels be careful and do 
not allow the temper to run out at the centre v/hile 
the corners are at a straw color, as all wide tools of 
an irregular shape (especially when not being hard- 
ened very far back from the cutting edge by not being 
dipped very deep in the hardening bath) have a ten- 
dency to draw the temper in the centre first, so have 
a small swab which consists of a small piece of wet 
rag or sponge attached to the end of a piece of wire, 
and when the temper in the centre of the chisel reaches 
a light blue, press the wet swab directly against it, 
which will hold the temper in check until the corners 
are drawn to the proper color. 

Stone Carvers' Tools. 

All stone carvers' tools are made very cnin and fine, 
but as the blows that fall upon them are exceedingly 
light it is not necessary to draw any temper, as they 
will stand and give good results^ if properly hammered 
and hardened. 

Polishing Board for Stone Cutters' Tools. 

When tempering stone cutters' tools and a great 
many at one time, have a short piece of board nailed 
or fastened in a convenient place close to the forge, 
and have some fine clean sand to put on the board. 
The board, if beveled a little upwards, will hold the 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



141 



sand on it much better than if fastened perfectly level. 
After hardening, the tools are brightened while in the 
hand or tongs by simply rubbing on the sand across 
the board. 

How to Forge Mallet Head Tools. 

To forge or make mallet head tools^ they should be 
first upset a little, afterwards being fullered in, then 
drawn out. Then swage to shape by using tools as 
shown in Fig. 78. 





Fig. 78. Top and bottom swage for making mallet head tools. 



Punching Teeth in Stone Cutters' Tools. 

There are different kinds of punch machines used in 
performing this work, which are operated by an up- 
right, side or foot lever, and all will do good work as 
a rule if the punch and die are made properly. The 



142 



THE TWISNTHSTH CENTURY 



correct shape of these tools are shown in Fig. 79, which 
illustrates both die and punch made with a bevel. This 
style of punch and die will punch the teeth very easy 
and the punch will not break so easy and will keep 
the chisel straight when punching in the teeth. The 
opening in the die at a should be a little larger on 
the under side^ which will act as clearance. The 
cutting edge of the punch should fit the opening very 
closely, it being a little thinner back from the cutting 
edge in order that it will move up and down through 
the opening ''in the die" with ease. The beveled cut- 



D 




Fig. 79. Punch and die for teeth punching machines. 

ting edge of the punch allows it to punch the teeth by 
a gradual cut, and which works much easier than if it 
was made with a perfectly straight cutting edge. 

The teeth will punch best when the steel is just a 
little warm. When punching be careful to hold the 
chisel perfectly level on the beveled surface of the die, 
otherwise the chisel will bend. In cases where the 
teeth bend after punching, do not undertake to 
straighten again when cold, as that will take out all 
the toughness and tenacity from the steel (that was 
put in the steel when hammering at a low heat) and 
the chisel or the teeth will break very easy when in 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



143 



u«e, but when straightening after being punched heat 
the chisel to a low heat. 

Harden the punch as any ordinary flat tool and draw 
the temper to a dark blue. To harden the die heat 
the whole tool evenly enough to harden, then cool off 
entirely, afterwards drawing the temper over the fire 
or on a piece of heated flat iron. Draw the temper 
to a dark straw. 

Lathe and Planer Tools for Cutting" Soft Stone. 

In large and up-to-date stone yards, a great amount 
of stonecutting is done by machinery, and which brings 
into use ''stone lathe and planer tools." There are a 
great many tools of this description used, and almost 
every one is of a different shape, varying according 
to the work that is to be done. Some of these tools 
are made from heavy steel, as finishing tools shown in 
Fig. 80, which are made from 1 by 4-inch flat steel, 




Fig. 80. Finishing tool for stone planer. 



144 THE TWENTIETH CENTURlt 

while the cutting edge is about 6 inches wide. To 
make a finishing tool as illustrated, the steel will have 
to be upset, then drawn or flattened out until it is the 
proper size. Heat to a good yellow heat when forging. 
The cutting edge is drawn down on a bevel principally 
from one side, as illustrated by a in figure, leaving 
the other side, b, perfectly flat, . After the cutting 
edge is drawn out (as just mentioned), then ham- 
mered at a low heat to refine the steel, the cutting edge 
at c should be bent up a little from the flat side, 
which will enable the tool to be cut much better. 
Roughing tools illustrated in Fig. 81 are made some- 




Fig. 81. Roughing tool for stone planer. 

what after the same method, but from much smaller 
steel ; also the cutting edge of a roughing tool is made 
rounding. Moulding tools are forged as near to the 
correct shape as possible, afterwards being ground. 

To harden, heat the cutting edge about three-fourths 
of an inch back, enough to harden, according to the- 
shape, but dip deep in the bath and draw the temper 
to a light straw color. For finishing tools, it is not 
necessary to draw any temper with the exception of 
the extreme corners, as indicated by dotted line of 
figure, which should be drawn to a light straw by 
holding over the fire. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 145 

Dressing Tools with the Cutting Edge Beveled from 
One Side Only. 

When dressing tools of this description a great dif- 
ficulty is to be contended with, such as hammering 
or forging equally from both sides. Most blacksmiths 
and tool dressers have a great tendency to hammer 
on the beveled side only, which is a great mistake. 
Take, for example, stone planer tools as illustrated 
in Figs. 80 and 81^ if they are dressed by hammering 
entirely on the beveled side, they will be sure to crack 
when hardening the second or third. time they are 
dressed, and the tendency to crack will be increaser" 
if forged entirely at a low heat, so bear in mind to 
have a good yellow heat when commencing to forge 
and finish at a low heat, but forge or hammer equally 
from both sides. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The stonemason's nammer — Miners' tools. 

The Stonemason's Hammer. 

A stone hammer is the mason's favorite tool, and 
which almost every general blacksmith is called upon 
to dress, bnt there are very few who understand the 
process thoroughly so as to give good satisfaction, 
and knov/ing that almost every general blacksmith 
would like to be capable of doing this work success- 
fully, J. will give these instructions, and if followed 
closely the trouble with stone hammers will be over. 
Have a large fire with the coal well charred (as it is 
poor policy trying to heat a stone hammer in a small 
fire) ; now place the face end of the hammer in the 
fire and heat slowly to an even yellow heat clear 
through the hammer for 1% inches back. Be careful 
not to heat too fast so that the corners will be at a 
white heat while the centre is almost black. Uneven 
heating of this description will cause strains in the 
steel and have a tendency to crack when hardening. 

When dressing a stone hammer always finish at a 
low dull red heat. After the face end is dressed go 
over the flat end in the same way, with the exception 
that the last blows should fall on the flat sides only 
when at a very low heat. To form the cutting edge 
on the flat end of a stone hammer it can be forged to 
shape with the hand hammer or cut to shape with a 
thin splitting chisel. 

146 • 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



147 



Now that both ends are dressed, return the face end 
to the fire; heat carefully and slowly until the whole 
face is a cherry red. Never allow the corners to get 
above a cherry red when heating to harden and should 
the corners reach the necessary heat to harden before 
the centre of the face, stop blowing the fire, which 
will check the heat in the corners and allow the centre 
to come up to the required heat. To harden, plunge 
the whole hammer deep into the hardening bath and 
cool off entirely, at the same time keeping the water 
agitated so that it will keep cool and act on the hot 
steel much quicker. Heat and harden the other end 
in the same way, but be careful not to draw any tem- 
per in the end already hardened, v»^hich can be over- 
come by occasionally dipping the hardened end in 
water while heating the other end, for all ordinary 
stone hammers never draw any temper. 

As almost everv blacksmith or tooldresser who has 




Fig, 82. The stone hammer. 



dressed stone hammers has had more or less experi- 
ence by having them crack, bear this in mind, that it 
is not the water which causes them to crack, as a great 
many may suppose, "but instead by the fire," for if 
a stone hammer becomes overheated in the fire, espe- 
cially when heating to harden, there will be cracks in 



148 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

it, and if they don't show up the first time after 
quenching, they will the next, and this information 
likewise applies to other tools. Sometimes when work- 
ing on soft stone, some masons prefer a stone hammer 
made with a hollow face, as indicated by dotted lines 
in Fig. 82. 

Miners* Tools. 

As there is a great amount of mining going on 
throughout the country, first-class sharpeners of min- 
ers' tools are in great demand; and likewise receive 
high wages. The principal tools used by miners are 
drills, which may be divided into two classes, as, the 
hand drill and the cross or machine drill. 

To make a good fast cutting hand drill, notice the 
shape of the drill in Fig. 83. I have had drills of this 





Fig, 83. Correct shape of miners* hand drill for hard rock. 

description drill a hole 19% inches deep, through hard 
granite at one sharpening, and for a whole day at a 
time I have had them average 14 inches to each sharp- 
ening, but yet how many drill sharpeners are there 
that can make a drill average 6 inches in hard granite 
without resharpening ? The real secret of success in 
order to make a good fast cutting hand drill is this: 
The drill must be properly hardened but not very far 
back from the cutting edge, and have plenty of clear- 
ance on the corners of the bit. The cutting edge is 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER I49 

formed by drawing down to a very short taper, and 
should be gradually rounding towards the extreme 
cutting edge (instead of being perfectly straight). As 
shown in side view of Fig. 83, the cutting edge should 

also be just a little rounding. 

A great many drill sharpeners do not give their 

drills enough clearance on the corners and at the same 

time making the drill very rounding in the bit as Fig. 

S4. Others again make the drills too thick at the 





Fig. 84. Incorrect shape of hand drill. 

cutting edge, as shown in side view of the same figure. 
Miners call this shape a bull bit because it will neither 
cut or break on account of its thickness. This shape 
of a drill is made by driving back the steel with the 
hammer when sharpening. Ordinary hand drills for 
hard rock such as granite, requires no temper to be 
drawn after hardening. 

The Cross or Machine Drill. 

The machine drill which does its work by the aid 
of steam, is entirely different from a hand drill, the bit 
or cutting edge being in the shape of a cross, as shown 
in Fig. 85. To make a machine drill, the end is first 
upset according to the size of the drill to be made, 
then split in from four sides with a thin hot chisel, 
afterwards fullering in with square fullers, which will 
leave the end as Fig. 86. The bevel of the cutting edge 
is then cut on with a hot chisel. 



150 



THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



When forging or dressing the bit of a machine drill, 
make sure that the centre of the bit is exactly in the 
centre of the drill, so as not to have one part of the 
bit longer than another, and have the bit perfectly 
square and all the cutting edges exactly the same 
length; also have a good clearance on the corners. 
Although machine drills are used chiefly in mines they 





Fig. 85. Illustrating side and end views of a machine 
or cross drill. 



Fig. 86. Showing the shape of a machine drill bit before cutting 
bevel to form cutting edge. 



are also used in stone quarries, but when making a 
machine drill for soft rock such as limestone, the bit 
should be made thinner and should also have a longer 
bevel to form the cutting edge, than a drill which is 
to drill hard rock. 

When hardening a machine drill, heat the whole 
bit evenly but not exceeding % of an inch back from 
the cutting edge, then plunge into the hardening., bath 
and cool off entirely. Drills to cut hard rock require 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 151 

no temper drawn, but a machine drill to drill soft 
rock should be drawn to a dark blue. 

The Breaking" of Drills when Drilling and the Cause. 

The main cause for drills breaking is due to over 
and uneven heating and also by having too long a 
heat when hardening, but a great many times the drill 
will break and although the broken fracture shows a 
very solid, fine and close grain in the steel representing 
a piece of glass (a sure sign that the steel was properly 
hardened), there must be some other cause^ and in 
cases of this kind I used to blame the drill runner 
for carelessness, when at the same time I was the one 
to blame for not making the drill the correct shape 
by not giving the drill enough clearance on the corners. 

It should be remembered that if a drill has not 
enough clearance and binds in the hole it is very easily 
broken, although it may be properly hardened. An- 
other cause for drills breaking is, when drilling rock 
that has seams or cracks running through it, but this 
is a natural cause and cannot as a rule be remedied, 
although it may be partly overcome when drilling 
with a hand drill, by making the drill perfectly straight 
in the bit. When drilling holes 12 or 15 feet deep, 
the hole is always started w^ith a large drill, but as 
the hole is drilled deeper the drill will have to be 
made smaller and longer. A good rule to go by so 
as to regulate the size of the drill for deep drilling, is 
to make the bit or cutting edge Ys of an inch smaller 
to every 2 feet in length of the drill. To further ex- 
plain, supposing a hole is to be drilled 16 feet in depth, 
the first drill or starter will be 2% wide in the bit, 
while the last one to finish the hole will be 1% inches 



152 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

wide in the bit. Generally a gauge is kept on hand 
for the purpose of regulating the size of the drill, 
which consists of a piece of thin flat iron having the 
different sizes cut in it. 

The Rock-Cutting Reamer. 

Sometimes after drilling, it is found necessary (by 
the man who does the blasting) to break the rock a 
certain way, but as satisfactory results cannot be ac- 
complished by the ordinary round drill hole, the hole 
is cut into an oval shape and in a direction which is 
most likely to cause the necessary results. This work 
is known as "reaming the hole." 

The reamer is made as a rule from octagon steel, 
by upsetting according to the size of the drill hole to 
be reamed, and forged to an oval shape. The long 
way of the oval cutting face should be a little round- 
ing, while the ends as illustrated, a a. Fig. 87, should 

a 




Fig. 87. The rock cutting reamer. 

be forged to a sharp point, and the cutting edges, as 
b b, should be perfectly square and sharp. The reamer 
should be well tapered back from all sides of the 
cutting face to give a clearance. 

To harden, heat the cutting face enough to harden 
about % of an inch back, then plunge into the bath 
and cool off "dead cold" and draw no temper. Unless 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 153 

the reamer is to cut soft rock, then draw the temper 
to a dark blue. 

Well Drills. 

There is a great amount of well drilling going on 
throughout the country, consequently the blacksmith 
is called upon to dress the drills occasionally. The 
size and shape of the drill depends upon the size of 
the hole and the hardness of the rock to be drilled. 
A drill for hard rock is made thick and heavy, and 
is hardened without drawing any temper. But a drill 
for soft rock is made thin, and after hardening the 
temper is drawn to a dark blue. When making wide 
and thin well drills be careful in heating to forge, but 
more especially when hardening. 



CHAPTER X. 

Horseshoers' Tools — How to dress a vise — Sharpening pa)W 
shares. 

Horseshoers' Tools. 

After considering the number of horseshoers there 
are, it is safe to say that not one in a hundred can make 
or dress their own tools as they should be done. I have 
been in a great many horseshoeing shops, where I have 
seen men working by main strength and energy simply 
for the want of good tools. 

The majority of horseshoers buy their tools in a hard- 
ware store, using them until they become dull, then 
they are thrown away, because the horseshoer does not 
know how to fix them. But as every horseshoer likes to 
have good sharp tools, I will give the following instruc- 
tions on different tools which if put into practice, it 
will be no longer necessary to work with dull tools. 

How to Make and Dress a Pair of Pincers. 

To make a pair of pincers, take a piece of %-iiich 
square steel which should be 75 points carbon, forge 
and bend to shape as illustrated in Fig. 88, leaving the 
jaw the full width of the steel and tapering towards 
the cutting edge, but be sure and leave the jaw heavy 
and strong as indicated by a in Figure 88. After the 
jaw is bent to shape, strike the flat surface of the cut- 
ting edge a few good blow^s by placing the jaw on ^he 
narrow or flat end of the anvil. The handles may be 

154 



TOOLSMITII AND STEELWORKER 



155 





Fig. 88. Illustrating horseshoer' 

pinchers and how jaw is forged 

and bent to shape. 



156 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

drawn out round or half round as suits the man who is 
to use them, but will be much easier on the hand and be 
a pleasure to use if the handles are made %-inch half 
round. After both parts are forged fit together and 
drill the hole for the bolt or rivet. A steel bolt is pre- 
ferred to a rivet, as then the pincers can be taken apart 
very easy whenever necessary. 

To harden, heat at least 1 inch back from the cutting 
edge and draw the temper to a light blue. To dress 
pincers, hoof cutters or nai'l nippers, without taking 
out the rivet, heat the whole jaws 'to a bright cherry 
red, then close in or bend to shape. Now have a very 
low red heat and strike a few blows on the flat surface 
only of each cutting edge, although it is always best to 
refine the steel by hammering equally on both flat sides, 
pincers can be hammered on one side only after being 
bent to shape, which will be done from the outside. To 
harden, have the cutting edges close together, so as to 
heat both at once in the fire about 1 inch back from 
each cutting edge. Then plunge into the hardening 
bath and cool off entirely. Now polish the inside of the 
cutting edges, then draw the temper very slowly and 
evenly over the fire to a light blue. 

Making a Clinch Cutter. 

To make a clinch cutter, take a piece of good ordi- 
nary tool steel 1 inch wide, % inch thick and 5 inches 
long, fuller in as shown in Fig. 89, then draw out the 
part to form the handhold. Now forge the edge for 
the clinch cutter, making it a point to finish by ham- 
mering on the flat sides of the cutting edge while at a 
low heat. Draw out the punch almost square, bearing 
in mind to strike the last two or three blows on the flat 
side when at a low heat. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 157 

Harden the clinch cutter,by heating the cutting edge 
about % of an inch back, then quench in the bath as in- 
dicated by dotted lines in Fig. 90, then polish one side 
and draw the temper over the fire to a light blue. Hard- 
en and temper the punch after the same method as the 
clinch cutter. Bear in mind that when hardening the 



f=¥ 



Fig. 89. Illustrating piece of steel fullered in to make a 
clinch cutter. 



3 



a 



R: 



\/ 



Fig. 90. The clinch cutter completed. 



clinch cutter or punch, keep the back as indicated by 
a a, Fig. 90, perfectly soft, otherwise it will make 
marks in the face of the hammer. This way of harden- 
ing and tempering will apply to all horseshoers' tools. 
When drawing out a pritchel, always strike the last 
two or three blows on the flat sides, but not necessarily 
to harden or temper. 



158 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

How to Make a Horseshoer 's Knife. 

To make a horseshoer 's knife, follow the instructions 
as given for making butcher knives mentioned in an- 
other chapter, with the exception that the horseshoer 's 
knife must be bent to shape after the hammering is 
done while at a low red heat, and the temper drawn to 
a dark blue. 

How to Dress a Vise. 

It is a common occurrence when entering a black- 
smith shop to find the blacksmith doing some work 
with the vise and at the same time blaming it for not 
gripping the work firm enough, on account of the teeth 
being worn smooth in the face and the work turns or 
slips when in the vise. But if the blacksmith knew 
how he could repair the vise in a couple of hours' time 
and make it grip as firm as when the vise was new. In 
order that the job may be performed successfully and 
with ease, follow these directions : Take the vise apart 
and place a jaw in the fire. If the jaw is worn very bad- 
ly on the corners heat the jaw to a yellow heat and 
then forge to the proper shape. If the vise is not worn 
badly, just heat enough to draw the temper. After 
both jaws are dressed place the vise together to see if 
the jaws fit, as they should be perfectly level and 
straight. Now have a very sharp cold chisel and cut in 
the teeth at an angle across the face, beginning at one 
corner and going to the other. Then come back cut- 
ting at the opposite angle, as Fig. 91. Be careful not to 
cut the teeth in too deep or too far apart. 

To harden, lay the jaw on the fire with the face or 
teeth side up ; heat slowly to a low red heat. Then turn 
over and heat the whole face to a very even cherry red, 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



159 



but be careful not to overheat the corners and also 
bear in mind to have the center of the face as hot as is 
necessary to harden. Then plunge into the hardening 
bath and cool off entirely. Polish the face bright, and 
to draw the temper have the surface of the fire per- 
fectly flat without any blaze; lay the jaw of the vise 
on the fire, teeth side up, and allow the temper to draw 
very slowly, without blowing the fire, with the exception 
of just enough to keep the fire from dying out. Allow 









Fig. 91. Showing how teeth should be cut in a vise. 



the temper to draw to a dark blue, then cool off, and 
the vise will hold the work very fast and firm, being 
equal to any new vise. 

If the jaws of the vise are very square the teeth may 
be cut in cold without heating the vise at all, and 
which will answer the purpose very well in a temporary 
way. Make a cold chisel for cutting hard metal (after 
the directions as are already given in another chapter 
of this book) and cut in the teeth after the method as 
illustrated, being careful to keep the cutting edge of 
the chisel well ground. 

Sharpening Plowshares. 

There is a great amount of this work done through- 
out the country, especially in prairie States or Prov- 
inces and which in certain seasons of the year forms a 



160 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

great part of the country blacksmith's work, but there 
are very few blacksmiths who understand thij work as 
it should be understood in order to give the farmer the 
best results. 

The style or shape of the share varies according to 
the land which is to be plowed, as the land may be 
so-called stony, sandy or clay land. 

The first and foremost point in being able to sharpen 
a share that will give good results is to have a thor- 
ough knowledge of the nature and the working of 
steel and being without this knowledge is the cause of 
shares breaking, bending or having so-called water 
cracks in them. 

When sharpening a share have the hammer face very- 
smooth, with the corners a little rounding, so as not to 
leave any deep marks in the steel, and also have the 
anvil face smooth, otherwise the share will give trouble 
by not cleaning when plowing in sticky or clay land, 
unless the marks are all ground out or the share pol- 
ished after it is sharpened. "When heating so as to draw 
the cutting edge, always heat the steel to a bright yel- 
low heat, but always be careful not to overheat. When 
forging the cutting edge, hammer evenly and equally 
on both sides, but finish from the under side. By doing 
the last hammering from the under side it will have a 
very smooth surface on the top side of the share if the 
anvil is smooth ; and always bear in mind to finish ham- 
mering when the steel is at a low black red heat, thus 
refining the steel and making it tough. Do not hammer 
the steel after it becomes black as hammering steel be- 
low a certain heat makes it flaky and brittle and easily 
broken. (This information will apply to farmers and 
others who try to sharpen their own shares by hammer- 
ing them when cold.) Shares to be used in stony land 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 161 

should not be drawn out so thin as those which are used 
in sandy or land that is free from stones. 

To harden a plowshare, heat the extreme cutting 
edge to a low cherry red (or just enough to harden) the 
full length of the share by moving back and forth 
through the fire, then plunge into clean cold water 
point first and in a vertical position. A plowshare 
sharpened and hardened after these directions will 
give unlimited satisfaction. But although the instruc- 
tions given in hardening will prove most successful 
when it can be accomplished, there are times when a 
share cannot be hardened the whole length of the cut- 
ting edge in the blacksmith's fire. This will apply to 
very large and long shares, so when hardening very 
long shares do not try to harden the whole cutting 
edge, but harden only the point of the share from a to 
b, as illustrated in Fig. 92, a long share hardened 



® (D 




c 

Fig. 92. An ordinary plowshare, 

after these directions will give good results if the 
whole cutting edge has been forged and hammered 
after the instructions formerly mentioned. 

When sharpening plowshares in order that they will 
give good results and cause the plow to run level, 
make the point a little rounding, as marked c. Fig. 92, 
otherwise if made square it would gather up long 



162 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

grass and cause the plow to run out of the ground. 
Also have the cutting edge in a straight line from 
the wing d to the point a, so that if placed on a level 
€oor the cutting edge would come in contact and rest 
evenly on the floor, the entire length of the share. 
Plowshares for breaking plows are made with a very 
sharp point as illustrated by dotted lines in figure. 

How to Make Square Holes in Plowshares. 

A great many blacksmiths when making plowshares 
have more or less trouble to make proper shaped holes, 
in order that the bolthead will fit properly and not 
turn around when the share is being tightened up firm- 
ly to the plow head. To do this work correctly after 
the hole is drilled and countersunk, and the hole is 
to be made for a square cornered plow bolt, 
make a square drift or punch as Fig. 93, having it just 





Fig. 93. Punch for squaring holes in plowshares. 



a trifle larger than the square of the bolt head, also 
have the cutting face perfectly square and flat, it 
should be a little smaller back of the cutting face to 
give clearance. Harden the pun6h and draw the tem- 
per to a blue. 

To make the hole square, place the share on the 
anvil holding it firm, then punch the hole as already 
drilled, from the opposite side of the countersink. By 
following this method and holding the punch directly 
and evenly over the hole, the corners will be cut out 
leaving the hole very square and neat. 



CHAPTER XI. 

How to make a harnessmaker's knife — Butchers* tools^ , 
Railroad tools. 

How to Make a Harnessmaker's Knife. 

To make a harnessmaker's knife will try the skill of 
the expert to its full extent, leaving aside an amateur 
steelworker, but if the amateur will follow the direc- 
tions very closely he will meet with the best of success. 
To make one, use sheet cutlery steel of 75 points car- 
bon and 3-32 of an inch thick, but the size of the steel 
to be used will depend on the size of the knife to be 
made. The size of the knife depends a great deal 
who is going to use it, as some knives are made as 
wide as 6 inches, while others do not exceed 4 inches, 
and in a great many cases smaller. After getting steel 
the proper width, draw an outline of the knife on the 
steel according to the size of the knife to be made, 
but bear in mind not to cut the full size of the knife 
as the cutting edge is yet to be drawn out, but cut out 
3-16 smaller, as indicated by dotted line a, a, a, Fig. 
94. If the steel is not long or wide enough to cut the 
full length of the shank, it may be cut as 
indicated by dotted line at b and then drawn out to 
shape, and in extreme scarcity of steel, the shank may 
be welded on at c, but this is a difficult job owing to 
the steel being so wide and thin, but it can be done 
with care. 

After being cut to shape from the steel and the 
shank formed, forge the cutting edge of the knife by 

163 



164 



THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



taking a deep cherry red heat, and commencing to 
hammer at the point marked f, hammering equally 
from both sides until all the cutting edge is drawn out, 




Fig. 94. The harnessmaker's knife. 

although it may be necessary to take two or three 
heats before all the cutting edge is drawn out. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 1.65 

Now to refine and pack the steel, get the knife to a 
very dim red, then hammer evenly on both flat sides 
of the whole cutting edge; now heat again to a very 
low heat and then hammer, but this time do riot ham- 
mer directly on the cutting edge, but instead go back 
from the extreme cutting edge % of an inch, as indi- 
cated by d, d, d, which will take the strain out of the 
steel. Now anneal the knife by heating to an even 
blood red heat all over the knife (except the shank), 
then pack in lime or ashes, allowing it to remain there 
until perfectly cold, which will also help to take the 
strain out of the steel, afterwards filing the edges 
smooth. To harden, heat the knife to a low cherry 
red one inch back from the cutting edge in the blaze 
of the fire, at the same time moving the knife in a cir- 
cular motion in order to heat the whole cutting edge 
very evenly (and be careful to avoid heating the cut- 
ting edge in streaks), then plunge the whole knife in 
the hardening bath from a vertical position, and cool 
off. If the cutting edge was forged and hammered 
very evenly and hardened evenly, the knife will come 
from the hardening bath perfectly sti-aight, but other- 
wise there will be a crook in it, however polish one 
side of the knife as far back as it is hardened, and 
draw the temper very sfewly over the fire, moving the 
knife in a circular motion back and forth to insure a 
very even temper, draw the temper to a dark blue 
(which w^ill apply to all leather cutting tools), but 
before cooling off, should there be a crook in the knife, 
take it out by straightening it on the anvil with the 
hammer, then cool off and the knife is finished. Should 
it be impossible to take out all the crook with the ham- 
mer after the temper is drawn, a certain amount can 
be taken out and the knife made perfectly straight 



166 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

when grinding, but if the knife crooks a great deal 
when hardening, yet not enough to crack the steel, it 
will have to be heated again, straightened and an- 
nealed. However, if these directions are followed 
closely, there will be no danger of the knife crooking 
of any account, and the knife will hold a very keen 
edge on the hardest of leather. The dotted lines at 
e, e, e, represents an outline of the handle. To en- 
able the shank to stay firm in the handle it should be 
feathered with a very sharp cold chisel, as illustrated. 

How to Make a Butcher's Steel. 

Butcher's steels are principally made by machinery, 
as the knowledge for making a good butcher's steel by 
hand is unknown by most of the blacksmiths or tool- 
makers, although a steel properly forged and hard- 
ened by hand will outwear any that can be purchased 
in a hardware store. To make one, take a piece of 
round tool steel say %-inch diameter, after fullering 
in at a, Fig. 95, to form the shank and also fullering a 



a b 



Fig. 95. The butcher's steel. 

little at b, forge the steel tapering and very round. 
To put in the teeth, make the steel firm by putting the 
shank in a vise, now have a coarse sharp file, place it 
square across the steel, press hard and draw length- 
wise of the steel from end to end and equally all 
around, two files will be found more convenient than 
one, on account that the teeth can be put in two sides 
of the steel at once, which is done by holding the ends 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 167 

of the files in the hands with the steel between the 
files. 

Forge the shank long and square and feather it (as 
illustrated in Figure 95), so that it will stay firm in 
the handle. To harden, see instructions for hardening 
tools with fine projections. 

Hardening Tools With Fine Projections. 

To harden tools of this description, I will select a 
butcher's steel, as the teeth are very fine. Should this 
tool be heated to harden in the open fire as other tools, 
the teeth will lose their fine cutting edges and which 
is especially required on a steel in order to sharpen 
knives. To overcome this difficulty use the following 
compound: Take equal parts of wheat flour and salt, 
also a little water, then mix together to the consistency 
of soft mud. Have the steel perfectly dry and clean, 
then roll it in the compound covering the teeth of the 
steel w^ell from end to end, then heat to a good cherry 
red the whole length of the tool (excepting the shank), 
then plunge vertically in the hardening bath, allowing 
it to remain there until perfectly cold, then clean off, 
but draw no temper, as the steel will not be too hard. 
Very fine files may also be hardened after this method 
and all other similar tools. 

The Butcher's Cleaver. 

A butcher's cleaver is made from flat steel 1/4 inch 
in thickness, but the width of the steel will be accord- 
ing to the size of the cleaver to be made. When forg- 
ing a cleaver, as Fig. 96, weld on an iron shank to the 
shape, as illustrated, so that it will be strong. The 
cutting edge of the cleaver is forged by drawing down 



168 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

the steel to a very short bevel equally from both sides 
while the steel is at a good yellow heat, then finish 
by hammering at a low heat on the beveled edges and 
backwards a short distance on the main body of the 
tool. To harden, heat the whole cutting edge back- 
wards about % of an inch to a cherry red by moving 
back and forth through the fire so as to heat evenly; 
then quench, afterwards drawing the temper to a light 
blue by moving it back and forth over the fire. 




Fig. 96. The butcher's cleaver. 

Butcher knives will be found fully explained and 
illustrated in another chapter of this book. 

How to Dress a Railroad Pinch Bar. 

Wherever railroad cars are to be moved by hand, it 
is often found necessary to take the pinch bar (as this 
is the tool principally used for this work) to the black- 
smith to have it dressed or sharpened, but this work 
is very little understood by the average blacksmith 
and so the tool fails to give good results, it being too 
soft or otherwise the heel will break off. 
"^ To dress, heat the whole end of the pinch bar to a 
good yellow heat but not necessarily very far back, and 
then dress to the shape of Fig. 97. To harden, heat 
the face of the tool from heel to point to about 1 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 169 

inch back to a very even cherry red, being careful not 
to get the heel overheated, then dip in the harden- 
ing bath to 11/2 inches back at an angle as indicated by 
dotted line in figure. Now polish the heel and side 
bright and draw the temper, by placing the part be- 
tween a and b directly over the fire, heat slowly and 
draw the point to a blue temper, but keep the heel as 
indicated by c cooled off by occasionally dipping it in 
water to the depth, as illustrated by dotted line (as 
the heel cannot be too hard when properly hardened) 
while drawing the temper at the point, then cool off 



n^ 




b 

Fig. 97. Correct shape of punch bar 



and you have dressed a pinch bar that will give un- 
limited satisfaction. 

There are different kinds or shapes of pinch bars, but 
the one as illustrated in Fig. 97 has been found by 
practical experience to be the best, as it is very strong. 
The one illustrated in Fig. 98 is perhaps more com- 
monly made and used, but the fault of this pinch bar 
is, it is not heavy or strong enough at the point, con- 
sequently when moving heavy or loaded cars the point 
is very apt to bend or break. When hardening a pinch 
bar, as Fig. 98, harden the heel only, as the point will 
break if hardened or tempered. If at any time it is 
necessary to put a new heel on a pinch bar, upset the 



170 



THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



steel to the shape of Fig. 99, then forge to shape. The 
illustration as Fig. 99 will also apply when making new 
pinch bars. 



zz 




Fig. 98. The ordinary shape of pinch bar. 

> 



/ 



Fig. 99. Showing steel upset to forge heel on punch bar. 

The Spike Maul. 

When building or repairing railroads, the spike maul 
or spike hammer is greatly used, its principal use 
being to drive spikes in the ties. To make one, take a 
piece of 2-inch square steel and after punching the eye 
forge to the shape as illustrated in Fig. 100, as will be 




Fig. 100. The spike maul. 

seen one end is drawn down very small to about % of an 
inch across the face, both ends are dressed as an ordi- 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 171 

nary hammer. To harden, heat the large end of the 
spike maul first to a cherry red about % of an inch 
back from the face, having the center of the face at an 
even heat with the outside or corners in order that it 
will harden properly, then dip in the hardening bath to 
about 114 inches deep. Then polish the face and allow 
the temper to run down to a light blue. If there is not 
enough heat in the spike maul to drive down the tem- 
per it can be drawn by holding the end over the fire, 
and slowly and continually turning it around until the 
temper is drawn to the desired color. Harden and tem- 
per both ends the same way, but be caretul not to draw 
the temper in the end which is already hardened and 
tempered while heating to harden the second end. 
However, if the large end is hardened and tempered 
first, there will be no danger of the temper drawing in 
the other end, as the small end can be heated so much 
quicker and so the heat has not time to run to the large 
end enough to draw the temper, but in cases where 
there is danger of the temper drawing, cool off the tem- 
pered end in water. A spike maul is not so apt to get 
hollowing in the center of the face as an ordinary ham- 
mer, but, instead, is more apt to break off at the cor- 
ners, so when dressing make the corners rounding, but 
not too much. 

The Claw Bar. 

In railroad construction, the claw bar is very exten- 
sively used, its principal use being to pull spikes. 
Dressing claw bars when badly broken is somewhat of 
a difficult task and requires skill to forge them to the 
proper shape. To dress a claw bar, as shown in Fig. 
101, when badly worn or broken, heat to a deep yellow 
heat, then forge to shape, as illustrated by side view 



172 



THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



in figure, then close the claws, as a, a, front view in 
figure, to within % of an inch apart at the extreme 
ends. Now have a fuller as Fig. 103, which should be 



Front view. 




End view. 



Side view. 
Fig. 101 . Illustrating claw bar. 



Ys wider than the body of a railroad spike, and drive 
the fuller down between the claws. This will straighten 
the claws and bring them the right width apart. Now 




Fig. 102. Side view of opposite end of claw bar. 

have a small gouge and gouge out the claws from the 
front side, the extreme ends should be very thin (as 
shown in end view of figure, in order to go under the 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



173 



head of a spike when pulling it), but should gradually 
become thicker back from the extreme ends. 

Claw bars must not be hardened or tempered, or they 
will break very easily when pulling a hard spike. The 
opposite end of a claw bar is generally made with a 




Fig. 103o Illustratiilg kind of fuller used, when dressing 

claw bars. 



bent chisel point as Fig. 102, which is used sometimes 
to loosen the spikes before pulling. There are also 
many different shapes of claw bars, but the one illus- 
trated is the principal one used, and they are all 
dressed after the same method or principle. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Miscellaneous tools — Case hardening. 

The Bricklayer's Set. 

A bricklayer's set has a very wide cutting edge, 
while the shank or handle is % octagon or square, to 
make one, take a wide piece of flat steel fuller in, then 
draw out the handle, after which the cutting edge is 
forged. But in case a piece of steel, as just men- 
tioned, cannot be had, the only way to forge the cut- 
ting edge (which should be about 3 inches wide) is by 



(Q 




Fig. 104. The bricklayer's set. 

upsetting a piece of octagon or square steel as the case 
may be, then flatten out until wide enough. To put 
on the cutting edge file only from one side, the other 
side being left perfectly square and flat. 

Harden as any similar flat tool and draw the temper 
to a dark blue. All tools for cutting brick should be 
tempered to a light blue. 

174 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 



175 



How to Harden and Temper Wire Nippers or Pliers. 

Heat the jaws back a little past the cutting blades, as 
indicated by dotted line a, Fig. 105, to a very even 
cherry red, then dip into the hardening bath to dotted 
line b above the rivet. Noav polish the upper side 




Fig. 105. The wire nippers. 

bright and draw the temper over the fire very slowly 
and evenly to a light blue, making sure that the cutting 
edges or teeth are properly tempered. These instruc- 
tions will apply to all similar tools. 



176 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



How to Make a Razor. 

To make an ordinary razor use steel 3-16 by 7-16 of 
about 75 points carbon. After the shank is fullered 
in a little for the finger hold, then forged to shape, the 
blade is formed into shape by bending the steel a little 
edgewise, afterwards being forged, hammered and 
hardened, as is explained in making butcher knives 




Fig. 106. The razor. 

(which will be found in another chapter of this book), 
draw the temper to a purple. A razor is hollow ground 
after being tempered and which should be done by an 
expert, if a razor is made after these instructions and 
the hollow grinding done without drawing the temper, 
it will hold a very keen edge, which will equal any 
razor manufactured. End view, Fig. 106, illustrates 
shape of razor blade before being hollow ground. 

To Make a Scraper. 

A scraper for taking off paint, grease, etc., off boiler 
plate or any other material and leave a bright smooth 
surface, is chiefly made from octagon steel, the size of 
steel used according to the width of scraper required, 
although for an ordinary scraper % octagon will do. 
To make one, forge the steel perfectly flat % thick and 
about 3 inches in length and 1 inch wide. The end of 
the tool is left perfectly square, the scraping or cut- 
ting edges being the corners, which are ground very 
sharp. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 177 

To harden, heat to about 1 inch back from the scrap- 
ing edges, then quench in the hardening bath and cool 
off the whole tool entirely. Draw no temper as the tool 
is required to be very hard ; it will give excellent results 
if properly forged, hammered and hardened. 



c 



v. 



Fig. 107. Showing scraper for boiler plate, cast iron, etc. 



Hardening Jaw of Pipe Vise. 

To harden a jaw of a pipe vise, heat all the teeth to a 
very even cherry red or just enough to harden, then 
quench the whole tool edgewise from a vertical position 
in the hardening bath and cool off entirely. Polish one 
side bright and draw the temper to a dark blue by plac- 




Fig. 108. Jaw for pipe vise. 

ing the jaw on a heated iron plate which should be a 
little wider than the jaw, in order that the jaw may be 
tempered evenly. These instructions will apply to all 
tools for holding pipes, clamps for holding bolts and 
all similar tools. 



178 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Hardening and Tempering Blacksmiths' Bolt Clippers. 

A good set of bolt clippers is a tool prized very much 
by the general blacksmith, and yet very few black- 
smiths are capable of repairing them properly when 
they get out of order, the greatest trouble lying in the 
hardening and tempering. 

After the clippers are dressed and the cutting edges 
made to fit properly and closely together, heat the 
whole cutting edge to a very even cherry red, then 
quench in the hardening bath from an upright position 
to about one inch from the cutting edge. Polish the 
cutting edge bright and draw the temper slowly and 
evenly over the fire to a light blue. These directions 
for hardening and tempering bolt clippers apply to 
the kind that are used principally nowadays, which 
have a long shaped blade and by dipping into the hard- 
ening bath (after the fashion of hardening a cold 
chisel) one inch back from the cutting edge, will enable 
the temper to be drawn more accurate and evenly with 
no danger of the temper running out at any part of 
the cutting edge if the least care is exercised when 
drawing the temper over the fire. However, some bolt 
clippers are made with a short blade which is held in 
place by a set screw or some other contrivance, the knife 
or blade not exceeding one inch in length. In a case of 
this kind heat the whole blade to a very even cherry 
red, then quench the whole tool in the hardening bath 
and cool off entirely, afterwards drawing the temper 
on a piece of hot iron or by holding it over the fire. 

Bolt clippers are made exclusively for cutting iron 
bolts or rivets and must not be used to cut cast steel, if 
used on cast steel the clippers will lose their sharp cut- 
ting edges or will breaks 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 179 

Tools for Punching or Gumming Cross Cut Saws. 

A punch and die for gumming cross cut saws are 
made a great deal after the same principle as a punch 
and die for punching teeth in stone cutters' chisels, 
with the exception that the saw tools are not beveled 
off, but instead are left perfectly fiat, the hardening 
and tempering being the same. See ''punching teeth in 
stone cutters' tools" in another chapter of this book. 
All punches for saw sets, after hardening, should be 
tempered to a light blue. 

The Scratchawl. 

A scratchawl for scratching or marking cast iron, 
boiler plate, etc., is as a rule made from small round 
steel, the point being drawn out very long and thin. 
To harden, heat to about % inch back from the point, 
but owing to the fineness of the tool be very careful 
not to overheat the extreme point, then quench and cool 
off entirely, draw no temper, as the point is required 
to be . very hard. Most mechanics who have use for 
a scratchawl prefer the opposite end flattened and 
bent to shape as Fig. 109. 



Fig. 109o The scratchawl. 

Hardening and Tempering Circular Blades of Pipe 
Cutter, 

To harden circular blades of pipe cutter, heat the 
whole blade to a very even cherry red heat, then 
quench the whole tool and cool off entirely. After- 



180 



THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



wards draw the temper to a dark blue on a piece of 
heated flat iron. Should there be a great many of these 
tools to be hardened at once and there is no heating fur- 
nace in the shop, place a piece of flat iron on the sur- 
face of the fire, heat it to a deep red heat, then place 
the blades on it, as the blades are of a flat shape it will 
not take long for them to heat hot enough to harden. 
Place 5 or 6 of the blades on the heated plate at one 
time, but watch carefully and keep turning them over 
for fear some of them should become a little overheated 
or heated in streaks. After quenching draw the temper 
also on a hot iron. 




A 
V 



Fig. 110. Flat and end views of circular blade for pipe cutter. 



Heating a Tool According to Its Shape. 

When heating, to harden tools of an irregular shape 
as an eccentric ring. Fig. Ill, the heavy or thick side 




Fig. 111. An eccentric ring. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 181 

should be heated first, then allow the thin part to come 
up to the heat gradually so as to avoid unequal con- 
traction when hardening. When quenching plunge the 
heaviest part of the tool into the water first. 



Making, Hardening and Tempering an Alligator Pipe 
Wrench. 

To make an alligator pipe wrench, take a piece of 
flat steel the size according to the size of wrench to be 
made, heat and then fuller in as a, a, Fig. 112, after- 
wards drawing out the handle b, now cut off the four 
corners, as illustrated c, to shape as indicated by dot- 
ted lines with a thin splitting chisel which will give 
the shape of the wrench. Now punch a small hole in 
the wrench at d and cut out the part e as dotted lines. 
If the wrench is made where there is a machine shop 
the teeth can be put in with a planer, but if made in 
an ordinary blacksmith shop the teeth will have to be 
filed in. The teeth can be put in one or both jaws, as 
may be desired. Fig. 113 shows the completed wrench 
with teeth in one jaw. 

To harden, heat the jaw (having the teeth) enough to 
harden to dotted line a, Fig. 113, then quench into the 
hardening bath to dotted line b, polish one side bright 
and draw the temper over the fire to a dark blue. 
Should both jaws of the wrench have teeth it can be 
hardened and tempered after the same method, but if 
the wrench has teeth in only one jaw, it is not neces- 
sary to harden or temper the jaw having no teeth. 
These directions will apply to all kinds of alligator 
wrenches or similar tools. 



182 



c 


/ 

/ 
/ 




N 

\ 

\ 

\ 


c 


\ 

\ 


*d 


I 



THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

C 



D ,d 



; 

Fig. 112. Showing how alliga- 
tor pipe wrench is made. 




Fig. 113. The com= 
pleted wrench. 



Hardening and Tempering Pruning Shear Blades. 

If the blade is short, heat the whole blade to an even 
cherry red heat, then quench in the hardening bath 
about an inch back from the cutting edge and in an 
upright position, afterwards polish and draw the tem- 
per over the fire to a light blue. Should the blade be 
long, say 6 inches or more, harden and temper as a 
butcher knife, mentioned elsewhere in this book. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 183 

The Center Punch. 

A center punch for marking or centering holes that 
have to be drilled in iron, steel, etc., are drawn down 
to a very sharp point as shown in Fig. 114. After 
hardening, allow the temper to draw to a dark blue, 



(Tl ?> 



Fig. 114. The center punch. 

which will do for punching all ordinary material, but 
for punching very hard metal the temper must be regu- 
lated accordingly. See instructions as is given in tem- 
pering a cold chisel in another chapter of this book. 

The Nail Set. 

A nail set for driving nails deep into the wood is gen- 
erally made from % octagon or square steel. The end 



a 



Fig. 115. The nail set. 

for striking upon the nail is tapered to % at the point. 
Harden not less than % of an inch back from the point 
and draw the temper to a light blue. 

Hardening and Tempering Steel Stamps. 

Stamps for lettering or marking cold iron, steel, etc., 
are hardened as any ordinary tool by being heated and 
quenched about one inch from the stamping end, and 



184 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

afterwards drawing the temper to a purple. Stamps 
for marking hot iron or steel will be best tempered to a 
light blue. When stamping cold material, be sure to 
always have the stamp perfectly level and firm on the 
material to be stamped, otherwise the tool will be apt 
to break. 

Making a Gouge. 

To make a gouge for cutting hot iron or steel, it 
must be first made as an ordinary hot or splitting 
chisel, but the cutting edge should be left a little 
wider than the body of the chisel, then it is placed 
over a bottom swage and while at a cherry red heat 
take a fuller and place it exactly in the center of the 
chisel and directly over the center of the swage, then 
strike the fuller a good blow or two with the sledge, 
which will set or force the chisel down into the swage 
and form the gouge. Bear in mind that a certain size 
of swage and fuller must be used according to the 
size of gouge to be made, for example, and to have the 
best success, supposing a gouge is to be made to cut a 
circle of one inch, the swage must be one inch and 
the fuller % of an inch in size. This method will also 
apply to making a carpenter's gouge. A gouge for 
cutting cold iron or steel must be left thicker than one 
made to cut hot material and which will require a 
smaller size of fuller when making one. Also bear in 
mind to have the steel at an even cherry red heat (but 
no hotter) when bending a gouge to shape, otherwise 
should it be bent while at a white or high yellow heat, 
the hammering which is done at a low heat (before 
bending) is all taken out and it will never hold a keen 
cutting edge or otherwise if the gouge should be bent 
at a very low or black red heat there will be strains put 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 185 

in the steel which will cause the gouge to crack while 
hardening. 

To harden a gouge, follow the directions given in 
hardening and tempering a blacksmith's hot or car- 
penter's chisel, which will be found fully illustrated 
in other chapters of this book. 

Hardening and Tempering Carpenters' Augers That 
Have Come Through a Fire. 

Although augers are made, hardened and tempered 
entirely in tool factories, there is often a case when an 
auger has simply lost its temper and become soft in a 
fire by the burning of hardware stores, etc., although 
otherwise the auger is not damaged in the least and 
which can be made as good as new (unless already over- 
heated) by the following method: Heat the auger very 
carefully in the blaze of the fire, making sure that the 
cutting edges and point are heated very evenly to a 
cherry red, then quench into the hardening bath about 
one inch back from the cutting edges, polish bright 
and draw the temper very carefully over the fire (hav- 
ing no blaze) to a dark blue. These instructions will 
apply to all augers, brace bits and all similar tools 
for boring wood. « 

Case Hardening. 

Case hardening is a process that iron or soft ma- 
chinery steel is put through so that the outside will 
be made very hard, while the centre still remains in 
its soft state. Case hardening is a very useful treat- 
ment, as certain parts of machinery are to be very hard 
in order to stand the wear, and iron or soft machinery 
steel can be made to give very satisfactory results when 



186 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

case hardened properly. For a great number of pur- 
poses machinery steel tools will take the place of tools 
made from cast steel, and is less expensive as the stock 
is cheaper and the tools are much more easily made and 
will last just as long when properly treated. 

When case hardening parts or ends of tools, such as 
set screws, the process is this : Heat the end of the set 
screw to be hardened to a bright cherry red, then roll 
the heated end into powdered prussiate of potash and 
return to the fire and heat to a bright cherry red, then 
plunge into cold water and cool off entirely, when it 
will come out of the water presenting a white appear- 
ance and will be found to be very hard if tested with a 
file. This method will apply to all small tools that are 
to be case hardened all over, but not to a great depth. 

When case hardening a great many tools at once 
where the whole surface is to be case hardened and 
to a great depth, pack in an iron box with any case 
hardening compound, such as granulated or charred 
bone, charred leather, charcoal and potash. But in 
packing the pieces or tools in the box be sure that they 
do not come in contact with the surface of the box or 
with each other, but keep at least % inch apart by 
packing the case hardening compound between. The 
box should be made air tight, and then placed in a fur- 
nace or heating oven which must be left there long 
enough according to the depth that the contents are to 
be case hardened. If the furnace is kept at a bright 
cherry red heat, the contents of the box will be case 
hardened to the depth and rate of 1-16 of an inch per 
hour. Afterwards the contents are taken from the box 
and quenched immediately in cold water and cooled 
off entirely. When quenching pieces or tools to be case 
hardened, the process is the same as cast steel, for ex- 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 187 

ample, take a flat piece of iron or soft steel 6 inches 
square by 1 inch thick it must be quenched by plung- 
ing into the water edgewise and from an upright posi- 
tion, also long slender pieces (for explanation 1 inch 
square and 6 inches long) must be quenched from a 
perfectly upright position and never at an angle, other- 
wise if the pieces are quenched at an angle they will be 
apt to warp. 



CHAPTER XIH. 

General information, pointers and ideas in reference to steei« 
work and toolmaking — Conclusion. 

The Correct Meaning of a Cherry Red Heat. 

We often hear blacksmiths and other mechanics 
when in conversation abont steel saying such a tool 
or piece of steel should be heated to a cherry red to 
harden or temper, but although their advice may be 
quite true how many are there who know the correct 
heat and meaning of a cherry red heat ? If every black- 
smith and other mechanics who claim to know all about 
steel were judged according to the class of tools they 
make, then I am afraid there would be a great many 
who do not understand the correct heat or meaning of 
a cherry red heat. I personally know some blacksmiths 
and tooldressers who will tell me they know a great 
deal about steel and its nature, who, when they are 
hardening a piece of steel will often heat the steel to a 
bright yellow heat when they think it is a cherry red, 
while others again will not have the steel heated above 
a dull red heat, consequently the steel is he'ated too 
much or not enough to harden. But for the benefit of 
those who wish to know and are anxious to learn the 
real meaning of a cherry red heat, I will explain. A 
cherry red heat is the lowest heat at which a piece of 
steel containing 75 points carbon will harden suc- 
cessfully. But when hardening a piece of steel con- 
.taining 100 points or 1 per cent of carbon a lower heat 

188 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 189 

than a cherry red will do to harden it, and it should 
always be well remembered that the lowest possible 
heat that any steel will be sure to harden at, so much 
better will be the results when the finished tool is put 
into use, consequently the steel (to have the best re- 
sults) must be heated to harden according to the car- 
bon it contains. 

Heating to Harden According to the Size of the Tool. 

When heating to harden large or heavy tools, it 
should be remembered the heat should be a shade 
higher than that used to harden small or thin tools as 
the water will act much quicker on a thin piece of 
steel than a thick piece. Thick heavy tools will cause 
a great amount of steam, which has a great tendency 
to hold the water back from the steel, and to more fully 
explain, if two pieces of steel are taken to be hardened, 
the larger piece being 3 inches square, the smaller 
being I/2 of an inch square, but both pieces containing 
the same amount of carbon. Now if the smaller piece 
is heated to the lowest possible heat, that it will harden 
at successfully clear through the piece. Then heat the 
larger piece to exactly the same degree of heat, and it 
will be found after hardening upon close examination 
that only the corners are hardened. 

When quenching the ends of large tools or wholly, 
keep the water well agitated and so help to keep the 
water cooler next to the steel. If it is possible to have 
an overflow pipe attached to the hardening bath and 
another one to flow in at the same time, it will give 
good results when hardening large pieces as the hot 
water will continually flow away from the steel. 



190 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



Charcoal for Heating* Steel. 

A saying that I have heard a great many times is, al- 
ways use charcoal to heat steel, while another saying 
is, steel is tougher when heated in charcoal. It has 
been found out by practical and scientific experience 
that sulphur is one of the greatest enemies to be avoided 
when heating steel, and while charcoal is free from 
sulphur it is the only advantage connected with char- 
coal to heat steel by. But as to toughen steel by heat- 
ing it in charcoal, is a saying entirely without foun- 
dation, as there is nothing that will toughen steel ex- 
cept by hammering it at a certain heat and hardening 
it at the proper heat. 

In reference to heating steel by the use of charcoal, it 
does not matter what kind of fuel is used so long as it 
is free from sulphur and the necessary heat can be ob- 
tained, whether it be charcoal, coke, coal, bark or corn- 
cobs. Now, reader, never adopt any old saying or 
process unless you have found out by experiment or 
trial that it is true. Some mechanics are too ready to 
pick up quack theories by having heard some one say 
so, and consequently when the advice is put into prac- 
tice the result is failure. Reader, there are too many 
mechanics who belong to this class, you must belong 
to the class who do their own thinking, which is the 
sure road to success. Again, never turn a deaf ear 
to any one who has a suggestion to make, no matter 
who the man is or what kind of clothes he wears, the 
author has picked up some very valuable information 
in this way from some of the most illiterate men who 
only excelled in one point and which has been found 
out by experiment to be reliable. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 191 

The Scaling of Steel After Hardening. 

The scaling of steel after hardening, as a rule, is 
never observed by the average steelworker, but to the 
expert it means a great deal. By the way the steel 
scales off a good steelworker is enabled to tell good 
or poor steel, also hard or soft steel, hard steel contain- 
ing 100 points carbon if heated to a cherry red will 
scale off clean, leaving a white surface, while a piece 
of medium carbon steel of 75 points of good quality 
and heated to a cherry red will scale off in spots leav- 
ing a speckled black and white surface, but the scales 
left on will be very thin and light. But if a piece of 
steel of medium carbon and of poor quality be hard- 
ened, the scales left on will be of a thick and heavy na- 
ture, and steel very low in carbon and of poor quality 
will not scale off at all unless heated to a bright cherry 
red (almost yellow). This class of steel is worthless for 
making good tools. The temper of a tool may also 
be regulated by the way the steel scales off. For illus- 
tration, if a cold chisel (for ordinary work) after hard- 
ening should be partly scaled off, the temper should 
be drawn to an ordinary light blue, but should it scale 
off perfectly clean and white allow the temper to draw 
to a very light blue, bordering on a grey. 

Sometimes when heating steel in a coke or smoky 
fire the steel will scale off' as already mentioned, but in- 
stead of leaving a white surface it will present a very 
dark surface and unless observed closely it will be 
hard to tell whether the steel has scaled off or not. 
The scaling of steel, however, is only in reference to 
tools that are hardened after being finished at the 
anvil, as tools that are ground bright on a grindstone 
or otherwise machined will not scale off. 



192 THE T\7ENTIETH CENTURY 

By the scaling of steel a good steelworker can tell 
if the tool has been overheated when hardening, as the 
surface of overheated steel will show a very bright 
white color, the best way, however, to learn the differ- 
ence as regards the scaling off of a piece of overheated 
steel and of steel that was hardened at the proper 
heat, take two pieces of steel from the same bar of 
good quality and medium carbon, then heat one to a 
cherry red and the other to a deep yellow or white. 

Quality and Quantity. 

If tools can be made or repaired very quickly and in 
great quantities by a toolsmith or any mechanic, pro- 
ducing at the same time excellent quality, it will be a 
great saving of time, but there are very few who have 
such good ability. But to the ordinary toolsmith or 
steelworker I wish to give this advice, "Let quality at 
all times be preferred to quantity, ' ' and always see how 
well you can make a tool before seeing how fast you can 
make it, speed will naturally come but quality must be 
practiced in the beginning. For illustration, we will 
take two different toolsmiths who are making cold 
chisels, one may be able to make in his own way 50 
chisels while the other man is only making 25, but the 
one who makes 25 is having a much easier time and is 
always up to his work, although he has as many me- 
chanics to keep at work as the man who makes 50, but 
how is that the reader asks; it is because he prefers 
quality first. The other man is working as hard as he 
can, he n^ver catches up to his work because he prefers 
quantity first. The slow man in action but not in work- 
manship makes one chisel that does as much work as 
three chisels made by the swift man, consequently 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 193 

every chisel made by one toolsmith does its work while 
almost every chisel made by the other toolsmith is con- 
tinually breaking, bending or being too soft. 

Quick Methods of Working. 

When making or dressing a great many tools of the 
same shape and used for the same purpose, first of all 
consider the quality, then consider quantity and the 
quickest way of doing the work. For example, suppos- 
ing 25 cold chisels are brought at one time to the tool- 
smith to be dressed, do not dress, harden and temper 
them one by one, but instead dress or draw out all the 
chisels (using two pair of tongs and so keeping one 
chisel heating in the fire while the other one is being 
drawn out) before hardening and tempering them. 

When hardening the chisels have the surface of the 
fire flat, then lay about 4 of the chisels on top of the 
fire and heat very slowly, as they become hot enough to 
harden quench deep into the hardening bath. After 
polishing lay the chisel down on the forge or in some 
very convenient place near the fire (so that the tool- 
smith may be able to watch the chisels that are on the 
fire and also watch the temper drawing on others) and 
allow the temper to draw on its own accord, if there is 
plenty of heat left in the chisel back from the hardened 
part although dipped 1% inches into the hardening 
bath, the temper will often draw showing a light blue 
color 11/4 inches back from the cutting edge, but if the 
temper does not draw quite to the necessary color on its 
own accord hold it over the fire. When heating the 
chisels for hardening after this method let the helper 
(if you have one) keep the chisels placed on the fire in 
order that they may be continually heating, as others 



191 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

are taken away to be hardened, ''but do not trust the 
helper" to heat them to the right heat, as the toolsmith 
must watch the hardening heat himself as he is respon- 
sible for the quality of the tool. With a good helper, 
the author has dressed, hardened and tempered from 
15 to 20 flat cold chisels per hour after the method al- 
re-ady explained, and every chisel guaranteed to give 
the best of satisfaction by chipping as hard steel, as 
the chisel is made from. 

"When dressing granite cutters' tools, keep 3 or 4 in 
the fire gradually heating and as one becomes hot 
enough to dress, dress it and return to the fire to heat 
for hardening (as granite tools do not require to be 
heated very far back from the cutting edge, when hard- 
ening they can be heated very quickly), when hot enough 
to harden, quench it deep into the hardening bath, then 
rub it across the sand board to brighten, afterwards 
placing it on a piece of sheet iron or tin attached to a 
t"j.b of water (not the hardening bath) and allow the 
temper to draw on the tool by its own accord, as gran- 
ite tools do not require much temper, very little heat 
left in the tool after quenching will be sufficient to 
draw the temper to the desired color, and as the tem- 
per becomes drawn in a tool push it off into the water 
to cool off. After a little practice and having all the 
tools, etc., placed in a very convenient position, 50 to 60 
tools such as points, chisels, and small drills can be 
dressed, hardened and tempered, in one hour. 

When hardening and tempering a great many small 
machinist's or riveting hammers, harden both ends at 
once by holding the hammer in an upright position and 
reversing the ends of the hammer back and forth into 
the fire (thus heating the ends hot enough to harden, 
but keeping the eye of the hammer soft), then plunge 



TOOLSMITH AND STEEL WORKER 



195 



the whole hammer into the hardening bath and cool 
off entirely, then polish bright. To draw the temper, 
heat a large iron block (say 6 inches square and 4 
inches thick) to a deep yellow heat, now place the 
hardened hammers across the corners of the heated 
block, having the eye directly on the block and so al- 
lowing the ends to project out from the heated block 
as shown by dotted lines, Fig. 116. By this method of 




Fig. 116. Illustrating quick way of tempering small hammers. 



tempering small hammers, the temper will draw in the 
eye first if the hammer is turned over occasionally, aft- 
erwards the temper will draw in the ends, by keeping 
4 hammers on the block at once they can be tempered 
very quickly. If one end of a hammer should draw 
the temper before the other cool it off, but not any fur- 
ther back than the eye, then place on the heated block 
again until the temper is drawn in the other end. 

When forging tools, keep your hand tools well ar- 
ranged in a very convenient place close to the anvil 
and so be able to put your hand on the tool at once 
(which is required) and save lifting or moving a great 
many other unnecessary tools. 



196 THE TWENTIETH. CENTURY 



Cracks in Steel. 



Anyone who has had any experience working steel 
or making" tools has noticed cracks in the steel as 
shown in the cold chisel, Fig. 117. These cracks are 
often called "water cracks" and some will say the 
water was too cold, but the real causes are having the 
steel too hot when hardening and unevenly forging the 
tool at too low a heat, and if the tool has been forged 
at a very low heat then overheated when hardening, 
cracks in the steel are almost sure to be the result. 
Any tool that has a crack in it, no matter how small, 
will break very easy when put in use. 

Slighting Tools. 

Any toolsmith who wants to do good work in order 
that he may gain a good reputation cannot afford to 
be careless or slight the tools he is to make or repair, 
but should at all times do the work to the best of his 
ability. When dressing cold chisels as the one illus- 
trated in Fig. 117 (or any similar tool) do not attempt 




Fig. 117. Showing cracks in cutting edge of a cold chiseL 

to dress it by leaving the cracks in it, but cut off the 
end of the chisel as far back as the cracks are visible 
in the steel. 

A steelworker should never get in the habit of doing 
much talking while a piece of steel is heating in the 
fire, and more especially if the steel should be heating 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 197 

to be hardened, a great many expensive tools have been 
entirely destroyed by doing too much talking, thus 
causing the toolsmith to forget his work. If you have 
a lot of talking to do v^hich is apt to draw your atten- 
tion away from the fir^, take the steel out of the fire 
and lay it to one side until you are through with the 
conversation, as there is no work which demands closer 
attention and greater care than successful toolmaking. 
Also, do not get excited when working steel, as no one 
can work steel successfully if he is of an excited and 
nervous nature and never attempt to make tools when 
under the influence of strong drink, to work steel suc- 
cessfully the steelworker must have a clear brain and 
be patient, careful and have a quick and decisive judg- 
ment. 

The Result of Being a Successful Steelworker. 

The keynote of being a successful steelworker is 
"economy," and any large manufacturing company 
having in its employ an expert steelworker will De a 
great amount of money ahead at the end of a year, this 
result caused by the saving of steeland also labor. For 
example, I have been in large manufacturing estab- 
lishments where they had a poor toolsmith in their em- 
ploy, and the results were, a great many mechanics 
were losing time going back and forth to the tool fire 
in order that they might get a tool to do good work. 
I have known machinists and others to go to the tool 
fire 3 or 4 times (while once is enough) before they 
would get a tool to do its work, and in some cases they 
never got a first-class tool. 

Not only is the result of being a successful steel- 
worker or toolsmith a great saving to the firm or com- 



198 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

pany lie is employed with, but a saving of a great 
amount of unnecessary work and trouble to himself. 
A first-class toolsmith will keep a much larger gang of 
mechanics at work, when placed beside a toolsmith 
whose knowledge concerning steelwork or toolmaking 
is very limited. 

Hardening Tools That Are Forged By Another 
Mechanic. 

No blacksmith or steelworker should assume the re- 
sponsibility of hardening tools (especially if expen- 
sive) that are forged by another mechanic, for if the 
tool should crack when hardening (or in any other 
way not prove satisfactory) the blame will fall on the 
mechanic who hardens the tool, although the one 
who deserves the blame is the man who forged the 
tool, as he left strains in the steel by irregular heating 
and irregular hammering. It does not signify how 
expert the hardelier may be, as the steel is still bound 
to crack if not forged properly. 

Sayings and Ideas of Mechanics in Reference to Steel. 

Steel is one of the greatest and favorite subjects for 
discussion among mechanics, and the consequence is a 
great many different theories, sayings and ideas arise 
in their minds as to what they think is the best way of 
working it, and the toolsmith is in a position to hear 
the idea of each mechanic when wanting a tool made or 
repaired. But the toolsmith must do as he thinks 
right as regards the working of the steel, but as to the 
shape of the tool he must follow the mechanic's in- 
structions. For example, I will give a few of the say- 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 199 

ings and ideas which I have gathered up at the tool 
fire, although other sayings are mentioned in this book. 
Some mechanics have a habit of trying a tool with a 
file before using it, and not long ago I made a chisel 
for a machinist. After I had it made he took it away 
and in a few minutes returned with the chisel filed to 
an edge. He came up to me and said, "This chisel is 
no good because I can file it!" I asked him if he had 
tried it. He said, '^No, there is no use of me trying 
it when I can file it so easy ! " I told him to go and try 
it. He went and tried it and was convinced that the 
chisel would hold a good edge although he was able to 
file it. Now I wish to say to anyone who uses a cold 
chisel, although a chisel will chip cast steel and at the 
same time hold a good edge, it can be very easily filed 
to an edge with the use of a new or sharp file. 

An idea with a great many so-called steelworkers is, 
they will say, it does not matter Low hot steel is heated 
(so long as it is not burnt) when hardening, if it is 
put in the water at a cherry red. Now I wish to say 
in reference to this idea, although the result will not 
be as bad, neither will the steel be so liable to crack 
as when quenching the steel at a deep yellow or white 
heat, but the steel will never be in a fine crystalized 
state or hold a keen cutting edge as a piece of steel 
heated to the proper hardening heat, which is men- 
tioned so often in this book. Again, steel should never 
be held in the air to cool off after it leaves the fire 
when it is to be hardened, so bear in mind when hard- 
ening steel to quench it in the hardening bath directly 
after it leaves the fire, and have the hardening bath as 
close to the fire as possible and in a convenient place. 

Forge steel at a low heat is an old saying of a great 
many, and likewise a great many blacksmiths believe 



200 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

it and so forge the steel at a cherry red heat. I have 
already mentioned about the dangerous practice and 
hard work of forging steel at a low heat, but for the 
benefit of any reader who is connected with the work- 
ing of steel, I will give this information, trusting it 
will be well remembered. Forge cast steel in the be- 
ginning at a deep yellow heat, and if the steel is heated 
to a white heat (so long as it is not burnt) it will be 
all right, but lessen the heat as the tool nears the fin- 
ished stage, all tools should be finished at a very low 
heat, especially all edged tools having a flat surface. 
Never upset cast steel is another old saying of some 
steelworkers, and when they are asked the reason why 
they will generally reply, "It opens the grain and 
spoils the steel," and I have known some blacksmiths 
who refused to make certain tools, saying to the cus- 
tomer the steel was not large enough without upset- 
ting and that would spoil the steel. Reader, upsetting 
spoils the steel is an old saying, but that is all there is 
to it, as there is practically no foundation in the theory 
and there is positively no grain in steel. Sometimes 
there happens to be seams lengthwise in the bar but 
that is a fault of the manufacturer. A piece of good 
steel may be said to resemble a piece of putty, which 
can be worked in any way and still produce the same 
results so far as the grain is concerned. The author 
has upset steel to three times its original size and when 
finished gave as good satisfaction as if it had not 
been upset at all. But to more fully explain, take a 
piece of octagon steel and make it into a chisel and 
when made the chisel is found to cut first class, now 
what is to hinder us from making a chisel on the op- 
posite end. There is simply nothing at all, ''and yet 
\vq are upsetting it, as drawing the steel out on one 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKEB 201 

end is working the steel in the same direction as upset- 
ting it in the other end. Now, reader, remember this : 
A cutting edge can be put on the side of the octagon 
bar and still stand as well as if put on at the end; 
also the steel can be upset, crooked or bent any shape 
or form and still hold a first-class cutting edge when 
properly worked. 

Why Some Tools Are Soft When Put Into Use. 

There are different reasons for tools being soft when 
put into use. However, the main reason is, the tool 
has not been hardened successfully as the steel was not 
hot enough when quenched into the hardening bath, 
and if the steel has not been hardened it matters not 
whether any temper is drawn or not the tool will be 
soft just the same. Another reason why a tool is 
often said to be soft by some mechanics when bringing 
it to the toolsmith to be repaired, is because the tool 
has been used on hard cast iron while the tool was not 
tempered to cut anything harder than ordinary cast 
steel, consequently the cutting edge turns over when 
coming into contact with the hard metal. 

Still another reason, although the tool may be hard- 
ened and tempered properly, it is quite a common oc- 
currence that the temper is drawn when grinding on 
an emery wheel. 

Reasons Why Tools Break When in Use. 

A few of the main reasons why tools break when 
in use are — overheating of the steel when hardening, 
and improper forging which will cause cracks in the 
steel, also by leaving the temper too high, making the 
tools too thin and using a poor quality of steel. An- 



202 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

other reason for tools breaking is the result cf putting 
tools to a use for which they were not intended. For 
explanation, I have had mechanics bring me broken 
cold chisels (and having made the chisels myself, I 
could certify that they were forged, hardened and tem- 
pered correctly) and when I would make inquiries to 
ascertain how the chisels were broken, the mechanic 
would say he was using them for wedges. Very often 
the toolsmith worries and so keeps himself in hot water 
when broken tools come to him to be dressed, as he 
thinks he is to blame because he thinks he did not 
make the tools properly. This is a great mistake on 
the toolsmith 's part, for in a great many cases the me- 
chanic who is using the tools is to blame, for if a tool 
is put into a use for which it is not intended or used 
carelessly it does not signify how well the tools are 
forged, hardened or tempered, they will break just the 
same, and for the benefit of every blacksmith or tool- 
smith who chances to get a copy of this book, I say 
follow the instructions closely concerning each tool, 
and then if the tools are broken when in use 9 cases 
out of 10 the fault will lie with the mechanic who was 
using the tool. When a tool is broken look at the 
fracture of the break, if it presents a close grain re- 
sembling a piece of glass the tool has been hardened 
properly. But, instead, should the break present a 
very coarse fracture resembling somewhat a piece of 
honeycomb, the tool has been improperly hardened by 
overheating, and in a case of this kind the toolsmith 
is to blame for the tool breaking. Tools used in very 
cold and frosty weather will break much easier than in 
warm weather, especially if used outside in the open 
air. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 203 

Necessary Tools. 

I have often strolled into a country or general black- 
smith shop and found the blacksmith trying to forge 
a piece of neat work, by using simply a hammer and 
the anvil. It is quite possible that a great amount of 
work can be accomplished with only a hammer and 
the anvil, but the work is limited and very often after 
forging the article as near the shape as is possible, the 
blacksmith will often wear out a new file by filing the 
article to the finished shape, while the money that he 
pays out for files would soon amount up enough to buy 
him a good outfit of anvil tools or pay him for the 
time it would take to make them. By having a good 
outfit of tools, a great many jobs can be done in half 
the time and give a much neater appearance. The 
most necessary tools required in the ordinary black- 
smith shop, aside from a good anvil and hammer are 
tongs for holding different shapes and sizes, fullers 
and swages ranging in size from % inch to 2 inches, a 
flatter, set hammer, a hot and cold chisel, and a 
hardy. Of course there are a great many useful tools 
that I could mention, such as are used in large and up- 
to-date shops, but in a small shop it would not pay to 
keep them all on hand. However, the ones already 
mentioned should always be kept on hand. Any black- 
smith who is employed in a large machine, locomotive, 
or any large shop, should always be on the lookout to 
have as good an outfit of tools as anyone else in the 
shop, and so save borrowing from another fire. Al- 
though in some cases it is necessary to borrow, but 
when borrowing tools from another fire bear in mind 
to take them back as soon as possible, otherwise it may 
cause trouble. 



204 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Welding Compounds. 

There are a great many different kinds of welding 
compounds, but the kind that is most extensively used 
and most commonly known is borax. The borax 
should be crushed to a fine powder to have the best 
results, and if wrought iron drillings (that are very 
fine and free from oil) be mixed it will increase the 
welding qualities of the borax by causing the steel to 
unite more readily. 

Although all the instructions that I have given in 
the previous chapters (in reference to welding) is with 
the use of borax, there are other compounds Avhich I 
have used with great success. A welding compound 
that I will recommend to the reader is the Climax, 
manufactured by the Cortland Welding Compound 
Co., Cortland, N. Y. This compound is very valuable 
when welding steel, especially when taking separate 
heats, as the steel will unite very readily and not slip 
away as is sometimes the case when using plain borax. 
When using the Climax Welding Compound be sure 
and follow the directions given by the manufacturer 
and also the instructions that I have given in this book 
in reference to the welding heat of steel. 

Hardening Compounds. 

There are many kinds of compounds used for hard- 
ening steel and most of them are of no value. Some 
blacksmith will have a certain compound which he 
says will toughen the steel, another will say he has 
something that will improve the steel, while others 
think, no matter how the steel is worked or heated if it 
is only dipped in some wonderful liquid kept in a 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 205 

fancy pail or bucket the steel will be all right, and 
some have said to me in my travels, "If I knew what 
you had in the bucket I could make the tools stand as 
well as you." To explain, I happened to be in a coun- 
tr}^ village and asked the village blacksmith to let me 
have a fire which he was not using, as I had some mill 
picks, axes and chisels to dress. Well, I went to work 
and put some salt into a bucket of water, but as I 
wanted to have a joke on the blacksmith, I had the 
salt in different sizes of paper bags, so of course as I 
was emptying the different papers the blacksmith and 
his apprentice were watching me very closely, and as 
they had heard I was coming to the shop they wanted 
to learn all they could. However, I went to work and 
dressed the tools, occasionally showing the blacksmith 
what they would do, then I went away and left the 
brine in the pail as I was not expected back again. 
The next day the story was circulated that I went 
away and left the mixture in a pail, and the village 
blacksmith could temper tools now as well as I, con- 
sequently some of his customers heard of it and they 
were taking him some tools and he soon had a large 
number of tools to dress. But a few days after I hap- 
pened to be in the same village and so I called into the 
blacksmith shop to have a conversation. The black- 
smith not expecting me, I caught him at work on some 
tools that had just come in to be dressed, and after 
taking a look around the shop I saw some other tools 
that the blacksmith had dressed, but they were re- 
turned to him to do over again, as they were broken. 
Not only were the tools broken and giving poor sat- 
isfaction, but the blacksmith was getting himself in hot 
water by spoiling his customers' tools and trying to do 
something which he did not understand. This may 



206 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

look like a fish story to the reader, but nevertheless it 
is quite true and I could relate other such happenings. 
Now, reader, there is positively no witchcraft or 
common sense connected with hardening compounds, 
as they neither toughen or improve the steel ; not only 
arc they of no value, but the blacksmith v/ould need 
almost a drug store to mix some of them, while the 
blacksmith works too hard for his money to spend it on 
such rubbish. The best hardening compound is simply 
clean cold water and salt to form a brine ; the water 
should contain as much salt as the water will soak up 
or dissolve. This is the best compound yet discovered 
to harden steel at a low heat, and, reader, bear in mind 
that the lower the heat which steel can be hardened at 
the tougher it will be, and this is one of the greatest 
secrets connected with toughening steel. Keep the 
hardening bath as clean and as cold as possible. Water 
and brine are the only two hardening compounds used 
by the author. 

How to Determine the Temper of Tools. 

As much information could be given regarding the 
shape of the tool as the temper, and if tools arc to be 
made to cut or work on material that is not mentioned 
in this book, it would be best to find out what hardness 
the material is also if the tool is to do its work by 
steady pressure as a lathe tool or by a blow from a 
hammer as a cold chisel. If the tool is to do its work 
by striking it with a hammer, it must be ascertained 
how heavy the blow is to be. For example, if the tool 
is struck very lightly, although the tool is to chip very 
hard material, it can be drawn out very thin, but if the 
blow is very heavy the tool must be made heavy and 
thick accordingly, to stand the force of the blow. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 207 

When making tools to work on strange material, it 
will be best to make them on the thick and temper 
them on the soft side, after which the hardness of the 
temper can be increased and the thickness of the tool 
reduced to whatever gives the workman (who is to use 
it) the best satisfaction. If it should be otherwise by 
having the tools drawn out too thin and the temper 
left too hard, causing the tools to break very easy, 
there will be a good many chances to one if the black- 
smith or tool dresser does not lose liis job, so make 
sure and be on the safe side in the beginning. To more 
fully explain : I have knov/n blacksmiths to take jobs 
sharpening granite cutters' tools, and although the 
tools were hardened and tempered first class they were 
drawn out too thin, consequently the tools were easily 
broken, as the hammers used by ordinary granite cut- 
ters are very heavy, and likewise the blows that are 
struck upon the tools ''are very heavy," and as gran- 
ite tools require a hard temper in order to cut or chip 
the stone, the only method to fall back on for safety is 
to increase the thickness of the tool by not drawing it 
out so thin. 

There are times however when it is quite a difficult 
problem to determine the correct temper. Take for 
example, the toolsmith v/ho is making or dressing the 
chisels in a large locomotive shop, when a large num- 
ber of chisels is brought to him to be dressed at one 
time, he does not know if a certain chisel is going to 
be used in the erecting department or at the motion 
bench. A chisel used in the erecting department has 
to stand a great amount of rough usage by being used 
for a wedge, but does not chip any hard material 
more than splitting iron nuts, this chisel when dressing 
(and its use is understood) should not be drawn out so 



208 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

thin as a chisel that is to do fine chipping, and it may 
be classed as the ordinary chisel (see chisel No. 2, Fig. 
16, shown in another chapter of this book). The temper 
should be drawn to a very light blue almost a grey. 
But a chisel used by a machinist at the motion bench 
can be drawn out very thin (see chisel No. 1 of the 
same figure as just previously mentioned). The reason 
why this chisel can be drawn out so thin, is because 
the machinist as a rule is an expert in using a chisel, 
as he strikes it squarely on the head and holds it firm 
to the material he is chipping, consequently the temper 
''can be left harder" without fear of the chis3l break- 
ng. 

Overheating" Tools. 

If at any time tools of a flat surface such as cold 
chisels, axes, etc., become overheated when hardening, 
never attempt to quench the tool in the hardening bath 
while the steel is at such a high heat but rehammer 
it at a low heat equally on both sides, then the tool 
is all right again to be heated to harden. Should the 
tool be quenched or hardened at such a high heat, it is 
very apt to crack while hardening or it will break 
very easy when in use. Tools of irregular shape such 
as milling cutters, taps, dies, etc., cannot be worked 
over again with the hammer, consequently great care 
must be exercised when heating to harden or the tool 
will be ruined, but if the tool is not heated hot enough 
to harden the first time no harm iK. done and it can be 
heated again to a little higher heat. 

Cutting Steel When Cold. 

Cutting the steel cold is a very satisfactory method, 
when bar steel is to be cut or broken into certain 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 209 

lengths, as when making cold chisels )r other similar 
tools but the advantage of this method will cease when 
cutting steel over a certain size. For example, octa- 
gon, round or square cast steel ranging from the smal- 
lest size up to 11/4 inches in diameter, can be broken 
very quickly ^nd satisfactorily when perfectly cold, by 
nicking the bar equally from all sides, afterwards 
placing the nicked part of the bar directly over the 
square hole of the anvil, then striking it with a sledge 
when it will break. But care must be exercised when 
breaking steel after this method, as the pieces are very 
apt to fly and strike the blacksmith or his helper, but 
to overcome this danger place the handle of the chisel 
on the piece which is to be broken off before striking 
it with the sledge, which will prevent the piece from 
flying. When nicking the steel, hold the chisel so as 
to cut in a straight line and so enable the steel to break 
off square on the ends. 

To enable the steel to break with greater ease pour 
a little cold v^^ater directly on the nicked part of the 
steel. By pouring cold water on the steel all the heat 
is taken out, as steel will break more readily when 
perfectly cold than when it is warm. 

Breaking a bar of steel cold, is a very good way of 
finding out the hardness or the quality of the steel, for 
example take a bar of % or % steel (after being 
nicked) if the steel breaks with one or two blows from 
the sledge it denotes hard steel, but soft steel will re- 
quire five or six blows before it breaks ; also hard steel 
(by looking at the break) will show a fine and close 
fracture, but the fracture of soft steel will be more 
coarse and rough. If the steel is of good quality, the 
break or fracture will show a very uniform and silvery 
white appearance clear through the bar, but if the 



210 - THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

steel is of a poor quality it will show a dull brown 
appearance. 

To test steel bars that are too large to break cold, 
for example a bar two inches in diameter, heat the 
bar to a deep cherry red, then cut in from all sides 
say half an inch deep with a hot chisel, then lay the 
bar down to cool and when it is perfectly cold it may 
be broken by striking it with a sledge or dropping the 
bar over the anvil and the quality or hardness can be 
judged as formerly explained. But bear in 'mind that 
the steel must not be heated above a deep cherry red 
(in order to cut in the nick) or the fracture when 
broken cannot be judged correct, as a high heat in the 
steel would materially change the appearance and 
form of the fracture. I also wish to add, when cutting 
a great amount of cold steel at one time, dampen the 
cutting edge of the chisel with oil ; again, if used with 
care the chisel may be tempered to a purple without 
danger of breaking if made from steel of the proper 
hardness. 

Oil Tempering. 

Oil tempering, although often talked about, is a 
process little understood by the average blacksmith 
or steelworker and a great many mechanics have the 
idea that oil tempering is simply cooling off the steel 
in oil after the temper has been drawn. But to those 
whose knowledge is very limited as regards oil tem- 
pering, I will give the process, thus : In some large 
tool factories where tempering by colors is done avv^ay 
with, the temper is drawn on the tool after hardening 
by placing it in a vat of heated oil, the temper can 
be drawn to any degree according to the degree of 
heat the oil is heated to, which is registered by a ther- 
mometer attached to the vat. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 211 

Oil tempering does not refine tlie steel in any way 
as some meclianics think it does, but it has an advan- 
tage in this way, the temper can be drawn very even- 
ly to any degree, also when drawing the temper in 
oil the steel does not have to be polished. 

Drawing the Temper over the Open or Blacksmith's 

Fire. 

The method of drawing the temper on tools over the 
fire is a very useful one, although a great many black- 
smiths or tooldressers are not acquainted with it, as 
they think the only way is to let the temper run down 
on its own accord. I have already explained the meth- 
od many times in this book, but there are a few ideas 
I wish to add. Of course the work that can be accom- 
plished by this method is limited to a certain class 
of tools; take for example tools that are partly hard- 
ened, such as cold chisels, axes, or any similar tools. 

Very often a tool is dipped a little too deep in the 
hardening bath, consequently there isn't enough heat 
left in the tool to allow the temper to run down on its 
own accord to the desired color, and so the necessary 
temper must be drawn over the fire if the best results 
are to be expected. 

When drawing the temper over the fire be careful 
not to have too much blaze (better still to have no 
blaze), and do not have a smoKy fire if it can be 
avoided, but in case the fire is smoky have a piece of 
cloth made stiff by winding around it a piece of fine, 
pliable wire, so that when drawing the temper, occa- 
sionally brush the tool with the cloth (where the tem- 
per is to be drawn), which will take off the smoke and 
keep the tool bright, and also allow the temper to be 



212 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

seen and drawn with greater ease and exactness; Again, 
when drawing the temper over the fire, do not hold 
the tool too close, but hold it about two inches above 
the surface of the fire. Also bear in mind, do not give 
the fire too strong a blast (just enough to keep the 
fire bright is plenty), as it will draw the temper too 
quickly on the extreme cutting edge first. Do not 
hold the tool perfectly still when drawing the temper 
as there may be a hotter spot in one place in the fire 
than another which would draw the temper in streaks, 
but move the tool sideways or lengthways back and 
forth whichever is best to suit the shape of the tool, 
until the temper is drawn very evenly. 

If one side of a tool is seen to be drawing the neces- 
sary temper first, lower the other side nearer to the 
fire; this information will apply more especially to 
tools having a wide and unequal shape. Also when 
drawing the temper on tools, such as round punches 
or any similar tool that are partly hardened, keep the 
tool slowly and continually revolving around, in order 
to draw the temper very evenly on all sides. Other- 
wise if a round tool is held perfectly still over the fire, 
one side will draw to a blue while the opposite side 
will only heat to a straw color, unless the tool is very 
small'. 

More Points on Hammering Steel. 

When hammering steel in the finishing stage to 
refine it, bear in mind to forge the tool as near the 
shape or size as possible while the steel is at a bright 
yellow heat, but leaving the tool a trifle large or thick, 
as the tool will naturally require a little stock in order 
that the tool will be the right width or size after being 
hammered. This information v/ill apply more partic- 
ularly to tools of a flat shape. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 213 

Too much hammering is not good for steel, for ex- 
ample, supposing the toolsmith has a flat cold chisel 
to draw out. He draws out the chisel and hammers it 
in the finishing stage to refine the steel. Now after 
the chisel has been drawn out to a certain thickness 
and hammered sufiiciently, the toolsmith decides he 
will have to draw the chisel much thinner as he has 
been informed the chisel is to do some very fine chip- 
ping. But I want to say to the toolsmith right here, 
do not draw the chisel thinner by continuing to ham- 
mer it at a low heat, because it will have ?, great 
tendency to cause strains in the steel, which would 
result by cracking when hardening. But to draw the 
chisel thinner, heat it again to a bright yellow heat, 
then draw out to almost as thin as is required, then 
finish by hammering it as before. 

Do not attempt to bend cast steel at a dull red or 
black heat after it has been hammered, as that would 
destroy all the tenacity put in the steel by hammering. 
If the steel is to be bent after it has been hammered, 
heat the steel to a cherry red heat, although a certain 
amount of the tenacity will be destroyed, yet not 
enough to injure the quality of the steel. But if the 
steel should be hammered, then bent at a black heal 
or otherwise should it be bent at a white heat, then 
all the toughness has been taken out of the steel. This 
information will apply to. fine flat springs that some- 
times have to be bent to the correct shape after the 
hammering has been done, and will also apply when 
bending lips on flat drills. 

The correct heat for hammering steel so that it will 
be refined and made tough, is a dull red heat, but do 
not hammer steel after it becomes black, beoause if the 
steel is hammered after it becomes black it will be 



214 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

brittle and flakey, which will cause the cutting edge 
of the tool to break more easily when put in use. 

Very often cold chisels or similar tools are brought 
to the toolsmith to be hardened and tempered which 
were forged by another mechanic whose knowledge 
concerning steel was very limited. Now ''if the best 
results are expected ' ' do not simply harden^ and tem- 
per the chisel, as the chisel must likewise be ham- 
mered. But the toolsmith will say the chisel is already 
drawn out thin enough, but we will suppose it is, heat 
the chisel to a bright cherry red heat and upset it a 
little, which will give a little stock to allow it to be 
hammered to the right size again, also, by upsetting 
the chisel will help to take out any light strains which 
may have been put in the steel by the man who forged 
the chisel. 

Again, when hammering steel do not use too light a 
hammer as it is only time lost. A hammer weighing 
two pounds is plenty light enough, and when hammer- 
ing cold chisels (unless very fine) always strike level 
and as hard as you can, in order to pack and refine the 
steel sufficiently. Bear in mind when hammering tools 
that have a fiat surface for the last time, never strike 
one blow edgewise but strike every blow on the flat 
surface and both sides the same. 

How to Improve. 

Improvement is the gateway of true success in every 
art, trade or profession, and which applies especially 
to the toolsmith. To improve, the toolsmith must be 
devoted to his work and give it his whole mind and 
attention, as no toolsmith will ever be a successful 
steelworker, if he allows himself to become discon- 
tented by thinking that some other business or trade is 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 215 

better than his own, or if he only works at his own 
trade to make a living, and consequently all the time 
looking for quitting time and payday. 

To the toolsmith who is determined to improve and 
be in the front rank, I wish to give this advice, first 
of all read and study this book from beginning to end, 
do not simply read it once but read it many times until 
you have the contents almost by heart, and put the 
instructions into practice. If you are making or dress- 
ing any 4;ool that is mentioned in this book and it 
should happen to break or in any other way not give 
satisfaction, somewhere in these pages you will find 
the cause of your trouble. But if you are making a 
tool not mentioned in this book and it should break, 
find out the reason it broke, also find out how the tool 
does its work and if there is a weak point in the tool. 
Very often a tool will break, although it is made from 
the best quality of steel and it is properly forged, hard- 
ened and tempered, and so always remember to make 
a tool that is apt to break as strong as possible in 
every way, and do not temper the tool any harder than 
"just enough to do the work." 

Again, when trying to improve do not accept the 
advice of every Tom, Dick or Harry as being the best 
way, without first giving it a trial, no matter if the 
advice "does come" from the foreman, superintend- 
ent or the master mechanic. The manager of the com- 
pany whom you are employed with may be competent 
to run the business successfully, but remember, in 19 
cases out of 20 he knows nothing about steel from a 
practical standpoint, with the exception of what he has 
been told. The toolsmith who takes everybody's advice 
without giving it a trial by trying to please everybody, 
will never improve or meet with success. To improve 



216 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

and become an expert toolsmith, learn all you can 
about working steel, as it is better in these days of 
great competition to be master of one trade than a 
Jack of all trades. Never say to yourself I can't do 
this job or I can't do that, but go ahead and try; do 
your best and if you fail, always try again until you 
accomplish the work in a first class and satisfactory 
manner. Bear in mind that success is reached by 
overcoming difficulties. The author has had many a 
hard trial ana dilliculty to overcome connected with 
steel, but by hard work, deep study and perseverance 
has been crowned with success. 

The Blacksmith's Helper. 

A willing and intelligent helper is a great help to 
any blacksmith, and very often the work can be ac- 
complished with greater ease and quicker than if a 
blacksmith has a don't care and a dull minded sort of 
a fellow for his helper, and for the tool fire the helper 
should be fully up to the average for intelligence. 

I know helpers who have better ideas concerning 
how the work should be done than a great many black- 
smiths themselves, and very often a blacksmith has 
been greatly indebted to his helper for certain ideas. 
No blacksmith should have a helper whom he has got to 
be teaching or telling all the time how to strike, neither 
should a helper be helping an overbearing blacksmith, 
as I have known some blacksmiths to be changing 
helpers every week or two, because the helper would 
rather lose his job than help a blacksmith who was 
continually using him more lil^e a machine than a 
brother shop mate. I have had helpers helping mc 
on the tool fire from one year's end to the other, and 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 217 

I always treated my helpers as I would like to be 
treated myself and often forming a close and lasting 
friendship. And to all my brother mechanics I wish 
to say, treat your helper as you would like to be treated 
if you were in his place. Do not use him like a slave 
by making him do heavy striking when it is possible 
to do the work under the steam hammer. 

The Danger of Heating More of a Tool When Dressing 
Than What is to be Forged or Hammered. 

To explain this subject fully, we will suppose a 
cold chisel is heated to a high yellow or white heat 
two inches back from the cutting edge, but it is only 
forged or hammered one inch back of the cutting edge. 
Now if this chisel should be hardened two inches from 
the cutting edge, it would break very easy just back 
of the hammered part, when put in use, for this reason. 
If steel is once heated to a very high heat and not 
forged or hammered but hardened, although it should 
be hardened at the proper heat, it does not become 
crystalized the same as when forged or hammered. 
Also, when the steel breaks at the unforged part, the 
break will present a very coarse fracture resembling 
a piece of overheated steel, so bear in mind to forge 
or hammer all the steel that is heated to a high heat, 
especially if it is to be hardened. If the steel is not 
to be hardened, it is not necessary to be so particular 
in working all the heated steel, although steel is always 
stronger when finished at a low heat whether it is to 
be hardened or left unhardened. This information will 
apply directly to small granite hand drills, where only 
half an inch back of the cutting edge can be worked 
with the hammer, and so when dressing small granite 



218 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

hand drills (or any similar drill) be careful not to heat 
to a high yellow any farther back from the cutting 
edge than % of an inch. But when dressing a large 
hand drill such as a miner's hand drill, it will have 
to be heated according to the size. 

Hardening Very Small or Thin Tools. 

When hardening very fine tools, have a small can 
of cold water or brine placed as close as possible to 
the fire, then the tool can be quenched immediately 
after it leaves the fire. Otherwise very thin tools will 
not hold the necessary heat (which is required to 
harden them successfully) long enough to reach the 
ordinary hardening bath. 

More Information About Cold Chisels. 

Although I have given more information concerning 
a cold chisel than any other tool mentioned in this 
book, I have done so because there is no one tool which 
requires so much science or skill as a cold chisel. I 
know some toolsmiths who have worked steel for forty 
years and yet never learned to make a cold chisel that 
would chip any material harder than ordinary cast 
steel and even then it was only guess work. Now, 
reader, I want to impress deeply on your mind, that 
cold chisels can be made to chip from the softest known 
material up to the hardest of chilled metal, but the 
chisels to do this work successfully must vary in soft- 
ness or hardness of temper according to the hardness 
of the material to be chipped, and also vary in shape 
according to the weight of the blow struck by the ham- 
mer. There are a great many mechanics who think 
there is some way of making and tempering a cold 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 219 

chisel so that it will chip everything without breaking 
or being too soft. This is a great mistake, as it is 
impossible for one cold chisel to chip every kind of 
material and at the same time give satisfactory results. 
Instead we must have a number of cold chisels and 
each one made for a certain use. 

The different shapes of chisels as illustrated in an- 
other chapter of this book, will be found to give the 
very best results if made according to the instructions 
and each chisel used for its own particular purpose. 
Blacksmiths and ordinary tool dressers as a rule never 
take the shape of a chisel into consideration; conse- 
quently, they will very often make a chisel very thin 
when it is required to be made thick or vice versa. 
"When making chisels or any other tool, bear in mind 
that no matter how good the quality of the steel may 
be or how well it may be worked, hardened or tem- 
pered, the strength of the tool is always limited, con- 
sequently a thin cnisel will always break much easier 
than a thick one especially when given hard and rough 
usage. Of course the general or country blacksmith 
who is making chisels for farmers and others, cannot 
tell how the chisel is going to be used or what material 
it is to chip, therefore the chisel must not be made too 
thin or too thick; it must be medium, which I have 
classed as "the ordinary or farmer's chisel," and 
which should be tempered to a light blue. 

Never temper a cold chisel above a light blue unless 
you know for certain it is to chip very hard cast steel 
or cast iron. A chisel to chip very hard cast steel of 
about one per cent carbon, should be tempered to a 
dark blue. The cold chisel No. 4 as illustrated in Fig. 
16 which will be found in another chapter of this book, 
is used for exceedingly hard and rough chipping, the 



220 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

shape will also apply to long chisel bars such as are 
used in the erecting departments of locomotive shops, 
and a chisel bar for this particular purpose should be 
tempered to a very light blue or almost a grey, as a 
chisel bar does not have to cut or chip any hard ma- 
terial, but it is given very rough usage, consequently, 
it must be made with a very short taper and tempered 
very low in order to keep it from breaking. 

Always remember that if a chisel (or any other tool) 
is properly hardened, the chisel will stand first class 
even if the temper is not drawn to the exact color. 
But if the chisel is improperly hardened by being over-, 
heated, it will never stand or do good work no matter 
what temper is drawn afterwards, so make sure the 
chisel is properly hardened. 

Although steel of 75 point carbon is best for making 
all kinds of cold chisels, on account of some bars of 
octagon steel being much higher in carbon than o'thers 
it is almost impossible to always make chisels from 
steel of the proper hardness, and so I wish to say to 
the blacksmith or tooldresser, any time you have to 
dress or make a cold chisel from very high carbon 
steel (say one per cent) harden it at as low a heat 
as it will harden at successfully, and always let the 
temper run down lower. For ordinary use, let the 
temper of a chisel made from high carbon steel draw 
to almost a grey and it will give good results, but bear 
in mind never make a chisel from high carbon steel 
when it is possible to make one from steel of the 
proper carbon, for this reason, a chisel made from high 
carbon steel will keep breaking or splitting off at the 
end which is struck by the hammer. When dressinj 
cold chisels, always cut off the old cutting edge after 
the chisel is drawn out to the right thickness before 



TOOLSMITII AND STEELWORKER 221 

hammering for the last time, then file or grind on a 
new cutting edge. In the ordinary blacksmith shop 
the cutting edge is filed on before tempering the chisel, 
but in large machine shops the cutting edge is ground 
on after the chisel is tempered. 

The different degrees of temperature Fahrenheit re- 
quired to equal the various colors when drawing the 
temper in hot air or oil : 

Color. • Deg. of Tern. F. 

Light straw , 440 

Dark straw 470 

Copper 500 

Eed 520 

Purple 540 

Dark blue 560 

Light blue 590 

Grey 620 

Table of ordinary tools made from cast steel, ar- 
ranged alphabetically, giving the color of temper and 
about the percentage of carbon the steel should con- 
tain to give the best results. To understand the fol- 
lowing table of carbon, I will explain, 0.75 is equal to 
75 points, 1.00 is equal to 1 per cent, 1.25 is equal to 
125 points or ly^ per cent. 

Description of tool. Color of temper Carbon 

Axe, broad Light blue 0.75 

Axe, lumberman's chopping . . . Light blue 0.75 

Axe, limestone tooth Light blue 0.75 

Beading tool, boilermaker's . . Light blue 0.75 

Calking tool, boilermaker's . . Light blue 0.75 

Canthookg Light blue 0.75 

Centers, lathe Purple 0.90 



222 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Description of tool. Color of temper Carbon 

Chisel, machinists' cold Light blue 0.75 

Chisel, ordinary or farmers' 

cold Light blue 0.75 

Chisel boilermaker's cold Light blue 0.75 

Chisel, blacksmiths' hot Light blue .0.75 

Chisel, blacksmiths' cold Light blue 0.75 

Chisel, railroad track Light blue 0.75 

Chisel, limestone Light blue 0.75 

Chisel, sandstone Light blue 0.75 

Chisel, ordinary granite Light straw 0.75 

Chisel, marble Very light straw 0.75 

Chisel, carpenters' ,. Dark blue 0.75 

Chisel, brick Light blue 0.75 

Clamp, bolt Light blue 0.75 

Cleaver butchers' Light blue 0.75 

Clippers, blacksmiths' bolt . . . Light blue 0.75 

Clinch cutter, horseshoers' . . . Light blue 0.75 

Cutter, ordinary milling Dark straw 0.90 

Gutter, pipe Purple 0.75 

Cutter, horseshoers' hoof Light blue 0.75 

Die, ordinary threading Dark straw 0.90 

Digging bars Light blue 0.75 

Drill, twist Purple 0.90 

Drill, ordinary flat Purple 0.75 

Drill, soft rock well Dark blue 0.75 

Drill, small granite hand Light straw 0.75 

Drill, limestone hand Light blue.... ...0.7^ 

Drill, limestone ball Light blue 0.75 

Drill, sandstone Light blue 0.75 

Drill, small marble. Very light straw 0.75 

Hammer, granite bush. ...... Light straw 0.75 

Hammer, limestone bush Light blue 0.75 

Hammer, ordinary granite. . . Light straw 0.75 

Hammer, machinists' Light blue 0.75 

Hammer, blacksmiths' Light blue 0.75 

Hammer, car wheel inspectors' Light blue 0.75 

Hardy Light blue 0.75 

Hatchets, woodworkers' Light blue 0.75 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 223 

Description of tool. Color of temper Carbon 

Jaws, blacksmiths' vise Dark blue 0.75 

Jaws, pipe vise Dark blue 0.75 

Knife, pruning Light blue 0.75 

Knife, butchers' Light blue 0.75 

Knife, pocket Light blue 0.75 

Knife, draw Light blue 0.75 

Knife, horseshoers' Dark blue 0.75 

Knife, carpenters' plane Dark blue 0.75 

Knife, harnessmakers' Dark blue 0.75 

Maul, railroad spike Light blue 0.75 

Pick, dirt Light blue 0.75 

Pin, flue expander Dark blue 0.75 

Pincers, horseshoers' Light blue 0.75 

Pitching tool, limestone Light blue 0.75 

Pitching tool, sandstone Light blue 0.75 

Planer tool, soft stone rough- 
ing Light straw 0.90 

Planer tool, ordinary ma- 
chinists* Copper 0.90 

Pliers, wire Light blue 0.75 

Point, granite Light straw 0.75 

Point, limestone or sandstone. Light blue 0.75 

Punch, boilermakers' hand... Light blue 0.75 

Punch, nail Light blue 0.75 

Punch, boilermakers' ma- 
chine Light blue 0.75 

Punch, saw gumming Dark blue 0.75 

Punch, ordinary center Dark blue 0.75 

Razor Purple 0.75 

Reamer, ordinary « Purple 0.90 

Rolls, flue expander , . . Dark blue 0.75 

Scraper, wood Purple 0.75 

Screwdriver Grey 0.75 

Set, nail Light blue 0.75 

Set, bricklayers' Light blue 0.75 

Shear blades Dark straw 0.75 

Snap, boilermakers' rivet . . . Light blue 0.75 

Spring, gum (see springs as 

illustrated) Very light blue 0.60 



224 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Description of tool. Color of temper Carbon 

Spring, trap (see springs as 

illustrated) Very light blue 0.60 

Tap, ordinary threading Dark straw 0.90 

Tool, woodturners' lathe Dark blue 0.75 

Tool, ordinary machinists' 

lathe Copper 0.90 

Tool, stone lathe Copper 0.90 

Wrench, alligator Dark blue 0.75 

Table of tools continued, which are partly or wholly 
hardened but have no temper drawn. 

Description of tool. Carbon 

Chisel, cold, for excessive hard metal 0.75 

Chisel, stonecutters', for very hard granite 0,75 

Cutter, milling, heavy forme d 0.90 

Cutter, milling, for hard met al 0.90 

Dies, forging machine 0.75 

Drill, large hand, for granite or hard rock 0.75 

Drill, miners' cross, for granite or hard rock 0.75 

Drill, well, for hard rock 0.75 

Drill, machinists' flat, for very hard material 0.90 

File 1.00 to 1.25 

Hammer, stonecutters' mash . 0.75 

Hammer, ordinary stone 0.75 

Pick, mill 0.90 

Reamer, heavy tapered, for hard material. 0.90 

Reamer, for granite or hard rock, 0.75 

Rasp 1.00 to 1.25 

Scraper for cast iron or steel 0.75 

Scratchawl for cast iron 0.75 

Share, plow 0.75 

Stake anvil, for dressing stonecutters' tools 0.75 

Steel, butchers' 1.00 

Tool, machinists' lathe, for hard cast iron 0.90 

Tool, machinists' planer, for hard cast iron 0.90 

Tool, granite pitching 0.75 

Tools, stone carvers' fine 0.75 



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let steel lay in fire any longer 



To Anneal Hard Steel. 

Heat to cherry red and bury in dust or ashes to cool slow, 
than possible. 

To Harden Tools or Steel. 

Always heat steel slow in charred coal. Charcoal is best. Green coal will ruin oast steel. Hot lead is 
very good to heat steel in. 

To Heat Steel for Hardening or Tempering. 

Take an iron box or piece of heavy gas pipe, put tools in, pack charcoal around them, heat box or pipe 
until tools get heated in center, then dip tools in solution. 

For flat piece, knife, bit or blade, always heat on edge. If you lay fiat on fire you will spring it, and 
for flat piece, blade, bit or knife always dip toward the north. 

For heavy round piece, stir water to a whirl, then plunge tool in center of whirl. It will not 
spring. 

" GUIDE FOE HARDENING - - CHAET A. 

High steel (tool steel) heated, quenched in water and kept there until cooled will be hardened and 
refined (small crystals). 



Resulting Hardness. 

Excessively hard; almost brittle. 



Too hard for use; will break 
easily. 



Too hard for use; not strong 

QOUgh. 



Very hard; strong enough. 



Very strong; hard enough except 
in middle. 



Stronger than bar; not hard 
enough. 



Heat Used. 




Appearance of Fracture. 

Coarse grain, with fiery lustre. 



Grain open, but not so coarse or 
fiery. 



Grain not coarse, but with 
fiei-y lustre. 



Fine grain clear through; no fiery 
lustre. 



Grain fine on the outside, but 
not in the middle. 



GUIDE FOR TEMPERING - - CHART B. 

High steel, after hardening, may be tempered as desired by slowly heating it in the open fire uBiil_ the 
correspondmg color appears. If heated in oil or tallow, these colors do not appear, but indications 
of the right heat are as given below. 



Designation 
of Temper. 



Very high. 
High. 



Medium. 
Mild. 



Soft or dead 

soft. 



Color of the Steel. 




Temp. "F." Condition of Oil or Tallow. 

ABOUT 



Dark smoke arises. 



More abundant dark smoke 

arises. 



Thick black volume of smoke 
appears. 



Oil will flash if flame is applied. 
Will continue to bum. 



Black Oxide. 

(Show* Red He>t in a Dark Place.) 

(No temper remains.) 



To Draw Temper. 

If it is a flat piece, knife blade or bit, heat a heavy iron; lay tool on edge up; draw to dark 
straw color. ^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^ ^^^^ ^.^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ .^ ^^^^^^_ ^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^ j^,. 

After tools are forged never grind or file them until tempered. As carbon is on the outside, the more 
you grind off. p^^ Drawing Temper in OU. 

Better ude tallow Put tallow in pot on slow fire; put tools in tallow, and watch color of smoke, 
fls chart indicates The color on Chart B and color of smoke gives you the temper you desire. 

Fot all springs do not harden, but boil in tallow until the smoke indicates blue color, then take out 
and plunge in cold linseed oil. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 225 

Working Steel at Night. 

Considering that the author has done a great deal of 
toolmaking at night, the tools have never been of such 
a good quality or given such good satisfaction as when 
made in daylight. Although there is a certain class 
of tools which can be made with greater success than 
others, for example take miners' tools. These tools 
are as a rule hardened but not tempered. Therefore 
the heat in the steel can be seen more clearly at night 
than the different colors of the temper. Drawing the 
temper on tools after night is very hard on the eye- 
sight and even then the correct color is very often 
guessed at. When tempering by colors (if possible at 
all), arrange your work so that the tempering may 
be done while there is good daylight, and this rule 
will apply more especially to the toolsmith when the 
days are short if the best results are required. Too 
much light at the tool fire is not good. When there is 
too much light have a blind put up at the window 
which will act as a shade and which will apply more 
especially when the sun is shining directly on the fire. 

A Few Words in Reference to Burnt Steel. 

There are a great many steelworkers, who are always 
looking for some method or compound to restore 
burnt steel and so for the reader's benefit, I will 
give the following information: The meaning of 
"burnt steel" is steel that has been heated to a higher 
heat than what it would stand, thus, when the steel is 
burnt it falls or flies to pieces when being struck by 
the hammer. 

The best method the author has yet discovered is, 



226 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

being careful in the first place not to burn it, as an 
ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The 
next best method is, cut off all the steel that is burnt, 
as it is only time lost trying to restore it to its natural 
state, and the time lost is of more value than the steel. 
Supposing it should be restored successfully, but bear 
in mind, that steel when once burnt is never as good 
as the steel in its ordinary natural state. 

Special Methods of Hardening Tools and Steel Goods. 

The following remarks may serve as an amplifica- 
tion of the general principles already enunciated, and 
as an explanation of the special methods. The proc- 
esses to be described have justified themselves, al- 
though it cannot be said definitely that other methods 
might not serve as well. In considering the question 
I shall pass from partial to total, from the simpler to 
the more difficult hardening, and shall allude to the 
hardening of certain steel goods for the sake of com- 
pleteness. 

File-Cutters' Chisels. 

These are hardened in water to a depth of from 15 
to 20 mm., according to their size, after being raised 
to a dull red heat, which must be uniform over the 
whole width of the edge, which is the only part hard- 
ened. The chisels are tempered at a purple red on 
red-hot iron. They can be ground down about 8 mm., 
after which fresh hardening is wanted. 

Before this rehardening the edge must be forged 
thinner, as it has already become too thick by wear 
and grinding. At this time, too, the shank is forged 
out smooth again. If the shank has been hardened it 
^ight fly, to the danger of the eye or hand of the file- 
cutter. Hence it is a mistake to believe that a hard- 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 227 

ened shank of a file-cutter's chisel lasts longer than 
an unhardened shank. 

Paper and Tobacco Knives and Shears. 

Long articles of these kinds are best heated in a 
cupola and kept there till the edge has reached the 
hardening temperature. These cutting tools have gen- 
erally holes and slots in them whereby they are fixed 
into the machine. So that the thin edges of these aper- 
tures may not get hotter than the solid metal near 
them, they should be stopped with loam before heat- 
ing. The hardening is done in water or, in difiicult 
cases, in tallow, into which the knife is put horizon- 
tally with its back outwards. 

For tempering we use a rectangular iron frame, 
somewhat longer than the knife. Several holes are cut 
below in the sides of the frame, and fire-bars rest on 
bearers a little way above the holes. This permits the 
access of air to the coal-fire which is made in the box. 
When a sufficient glow is got, two thin iron bars are 
laid across the box and the knives are laid on them 
with their backs downwards. There they remain till 
their edges appear violet. Another way is to lay the 
knives flat, so that only half the width of the lowest 
knife is over the fire. The second half covers the first, 
the third the second, and so on, so that only the backs 
of the knives are exposed to the direct heat of the fire, 
the edges being heated by conduction only. The rea- 
son is that the edge must be hard and the rest of the 
knife soft and tough. 

Short knives are dipped vertically in the hardening 
liquid. 

Short thick shear-blades are heated with the cutting 
side downwards in an open forge fire, only at the edge, 



228 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

but not bounding the heated part too closely. The 
edge is then dipped horizontally into the hardening 
liquid, the process being similar to that used for chis- 
els and plane irons. 

Stamps. 

Stamps can be classified from their chief characters 
as follows: — Punches used for making holes in metal. 
The shape and size of the flat ground surface corre- 
sponds to, and determines the shape and size of the 
hole made, and of the piece of metal punched out. 
Stamps are matrices worked by the hand, like a chisel. 
They consist of short steel rods with working faces of 
the proper form, and are used principally for making 
hollow bodies and for inscribing letters on metal, and 
ornamenting it by inlaying. Strictly speaking, the 
already described stamping hammers come into this 
class. In many cases, the gradual action of a large 
number of weak blows with the hammer may be ad- 
vantageously replaced, with the aid of a machine, by a 
single powerful impulse or pressure, in which case th o 
form to be given is determined by a matrix or die. 
Stamps include both matrices and relief dies. For 
stamping metal buttons, jewelry, ornaments, etc., mat- 
rices are generally used (rarely relief dies), anl 
are called stamps most generally. The stamp has hi 
under and an upper part. In coining, two stamps ai\^ 
used, the lower one being fixed, while the upper on 3 
comes down vertically above it. A ring confines the 
edges of the coin during the stamping so as to prevent 
the deformation of them. The second stamp, made 
from an original stamp, is called the matrix or model- 
stamp, and is used for making dies by pressing. 

1. Minting Dies. — These are heated red hot in char- 



TOOLSMITII AND STEELWORKER - 229 

?oal in an iron box smeared with loam, but' not closely 
jhut. The working face of the die is then hardened 
by allowing a stream of water to fall upon its centre, 
as it is difficult to get that part as hot as the edge, and 
yet the whole surface must have a uniform hardness. 
The w^orking surf ace' is usually not tempered, and the 
rest of the die only a little, so that the die may not be 
deformed in use by the powerful pressure. 

2. Press Tools.—Such dies with very fine engraving 
are hardened like coining dies. Those for button- and 
ornament-making and, also for rivet manufacture can, 
however, be heated in an open charcoal fire. They are 
licnted up, slowly at first, till the whole mass, and par- 
ticularly the working surface, appears of a tiniform 
brown red. Then the working surface is quickly 
brought to a higher temperature, ^s uniform all over 
as possible, and shading off into the brown red of the 
rest of the tool. For this purpose the fire must be kept 
short. To compensate for the unavoidably unequal 
heating of the working surface, the hardening should 
be done with a stream of water falling on the middle 
cf it. If the edge gets harder than the rest it must be 
lempered rather more to prevent cracking in use. The 
tempering is done in a sand bath, or an iron plate float- 
ing on fused lead, the working surface being upwards 
so as to temper the body of the tool the most. 

To prevent the tempering color from getting too 
r•^^r}l into the middle, that part is cooled with drops 
of water. For press tools used with heavy blows, tal- 
lov7 hardening is advisable. 

3. Drawing Rods for Cartridge-Case Making. — 
These are hardened over their whole length, and there 
is the danger to be encountered that from want of care 
they may be warped. They are best heated inside a 



230 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

uniformly heated tube lying in a long bedded forge 
fire with several tryers, or in a muffle. The hardening 
consists in a vertical dipping into water until the sur- 
face of the steel is dark, and then finishing the cooling 
in oil or tallow. Tempering is usually dispensed with. 

4. Matrices for Rivet-making. — These must be hard 
on the upper surface, on the inner edge of this surface, 
and also in its anterior walls, but very tough and re- 
sistant to blows in the rest of its mass. The heating 
has therefore to be done accordingly, which is difficult. 
After a preliminary gentle heating, as uniform as pos- 
sible, of the whole tool, it is brought into the hot part 
of the fire with its working surface downwards, so as 
to ^ive that the full hardening heat. The quenching 
is best done with a stream of water, directed not merely 
through the opening of the matrix but over all its 
upper surface. If the outer edge scales fairly com- 
pletely it must be tempered yellow, which can be done 
with a red-hot iron ring. Matrices for cartridge-case 
manufacture are quenched the same way. 

5. Short Stamps with large Working Face. — These 
are heated entirely and uniformly to the hardening 
temperature, and quickly cooled in a large vessel of 
water, with a constant flow through it, by dipping ver- 
tically and stirring them about. If possible the flow 
of water into the reservoir should be under pressura 
from below, in which case the stamps can be held 
quietly in the current. This is enough for soft steel 
(about 7 per cent, of carbon), but for harder steels the 
quenching in water is followed by a cooling in oil. In 
neither case is the steel tempered. If the stamps are 
made of medium or of hard steel, they must only be 
hardened in oil or tallow, and must be slightly tem- 
pered. Soft steel should be preferred, as it is more 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 231 

easily engraved. In heating such steel the working 
surface should be sprinkled with ferrocyanide of pot- 
ash, both to prevent oxidation and to get greater hard- 
ness. The residual ferrocyanide is quickly removed 
with a fine wire brush before the hardening tempera- 
ture is reached, and renewed thinly and uniformly by 
means of a wire sieve. 

6. Long Stamps with large Working Surface. — 
These are warmed all over, but the further heating is 
only at the working end, the cherry red passing into 
a brown red a little way up the tool. The quenching 
is done, like that of hammer heads, in water with a 
rapidly rising inflow. The overflow pipe must be so 
arranged that the surface of the watei* does not come 
more than about 2 cm. above the working face of the 
tool. 

The chief difference between the hardening of short 
anil long stamps is, that the former are hardened all 
over, the latter only at the face. If short stamps were 
only hardened partially they would warp, and this 
need not be feared with long stamps, as the larger mass 
of steel proceeding from the working face opposes a 
sufficient resistance to warping. 

7. Gutting Matrices for punching out Plates for Tin- 
man's Work, etc. — These are heated like the stamps for 
rivet-making, and c[uenched by vertical dipping in 
water, or for hard steel in oil or tallow. Tempering 
colour: yellowish brown to brown red. 

In general, it may be remarked that with stamps 
which have to work with great accuracy, and which 
must therefore be of an exact size after hardening, the 
change of volume produced by the hardening must be 
allowed for. Hence a solid tool must be made some- 
what too small, a hollow one somewhat too large, and 



232 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

just enough to compensate for the expansion in the one 
case and the contraction in the other. As the change 
in volume is different for different kinds of steel, it 
must be determined beforehand for each kind. 

Saws. 

Haswell recommends the following hardening method 
for saws in Karmarsch and Heeren's technical diction- 
ary: "Circular saws are brought to a cherry red and 
quenched in water with a thin layer of oil on its sur- 
face. The heating must be done slowly. The saws are 
immersed vertically. The oil catches fire as it touches 
the hot steel, and covers it with a crust of carbon, 
which protects it from too quick cooling and makes 
cracking less likely. Single saws can be given the 
hardening heat by laying them on a cold iron plate and 
then heating both together, and still better by heating 
the saw while pressed between two wrought-iron plates. 
This ensures slow heating of the saw and prevents 
warping. For the thinnest saws only oil is used for 
quenching, or a mixture of oil and tallow. This gives 
enough hardness. Saws of medium thickness are best 
quenched in solid tallow. This gives a somewhat 
greater hardness than oil. Very thin saw blades also 
get hard enough if heated red hot and cooled between 
two iron plates smeared with tallow. Saws for metal 
mu^t be tempered at a straw yellow. This is done 
after polishing best by laying the saw on red-hot iron.'' 

Holzapfel describes the hardening of saw blades as 
follows in the Mechanic's Magazine: — ''Saw blades are 
heated in special long stoves and then laid horizontally 
Yvdth the toothed edge, or the edge to be toothed, up- 
permoRt in the hardening liquid, which is a mixture of 
c^.l, tallow, wax, etc. Two troughs are generally used, 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 233 

SO that when one gets too hot the other can be used 
while it cools again. A part of the hardening liquid 
is wiped from the saws to a piece of leather, and they 
are then heated over a bright coke fire till the grease 
left on them catches fire. If they have to be left rather 
hard, only a little fat is allowed to burn on them, but 
more if they are to be softer. To get spring-hardness, 
all the fat is allowed to burn. 

"With other objects, which are thick, or of unequal 
section, such as many springs, two or three lots of fat 
are burnt off' them, so as to ensure the same tempering 
throughout. ' ' 

Thin saw blades and other small objects are some- 
times brought to the hardening temperature by immer- 
sion in red-hot lead, having first, as already said, 
smeared them with linseed oil and soot, and dried to 
prevent the lead from sticking to them. 

Shears. 

The blades are healed uniformly to a dark clierrj^ 
red reaching from the point to the rivet hole. This can 
be done in the open fire, first with a weak blast, until 
the steel begins to glow. Then the fire is left to itself, 
and the steel is moved about in the fire till all the 
parts to be hardened have received a uniform dark 
cherry red. Both blades are hardened together in 
water and tempered at a purple red or violet. It is 
necessary to treat the two blades together throughout, 
so that both may be of equal hardness, so that one will 
not cut the other — the well-known rule of dipping the 
blades vertically and slowly, points uppermost, down 
to over the rivet hole. 



234 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Table and Pocket Knives. 

There is little special about liardeniDg table-knives. 
The blade is dipped slantwise at a dark cherry red, 
back first, into the hardening liquid, which is usually 
plain water, or water covered to a depth of 10 to 15 
mm. with oil. The blades are then tempered at violet 
or blue. Pocket-knives are taken, half a dozen at a 
time, in the tongs, the separate blades being kept apart 
in the grip of the tongs by a piece of iron. They are 
then heated edge upperm-ost over a fire or hot-iron 
plate. For fine knives, a fused mixture of tin and lead 
is used for tempering the back and a spirit flame for 
tempering the edge. 

Scythes. 

The blades are heated in a little reverberatory-fur- 
nace, a small walled flue of neatly square section, which 
is steeply inclined towards the chimney. The grate is 
in front, and in front of it is a tuyer-opening. It is 
preferred to fire with wood rather than charcoal, as the 
former makes more flame and keeps out the air better. 
A few centimetres above the sole of the furnace iron 
bearers carry the scythe blades. At first one blade is 
put with about a third of its length in the furnace, 
v/ith its back downwards and with the point foremost. 
When this has been somev/hat heated, other blades are 
put in, and the first is gradually got entirely into the 
furnace. The number of blades being heated at once 
depends on the temperature of the furnace. The slow 
pushing in of the blades is necessary, because the 
greatest heat is in front, over the grate, so that the 
points of the scythes would get less heated than the 
rest if they were put at once into the fire. 

The quenching is in tallow, with edge uppermost. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 235 

The scythe is removed from the hardening trough 
when fumes cease to come from the tallow. The tal- 
low is scraped off the still warm steel with a sharpened 
piece of bark. Cherry tree bark is preferred for this. 
The scythe is then worked about in a heap of coal 
ashes to clean it. It is then heated very gently and as 
uniformly as possible over a charcoal fire, and then 
immersed w4th a hewing movement in a trough of run- 
ning water. This brings the scale partly off the front 
side of the blade. The rest of it is got off with an 
emery wheel, and the scythe is finally blue tempered. 
For this purpose an iron trough of proper size is lined 
on three sides with glowing charcoal, leaving one of 
the long sides free. On this side the scythe blades are 
put with their backs downwards on iron bearers and 
brought separately in turn nearer to the heat. As the 
tempering colour should appear uniformly over the 
whole blade, any defects in it are rectified over a char- 
coal fire with a gentle blast, heating those parts which 
have not been tempered enough, while the over- 
tempering of the rest is prevented by keeping it cool 
with a wet cloth applied now and then. The tempered 
scythes are cooled in the air. If very hard steel has 
been used, the scythes are tempered twice, polishing 
the front side of the blade before the second temper- 
ing, so that the colour can be observed. A sand bath 
heated by waste heat or some inferior fuel is more 
economical than the open charcoal trough, but does not 
do the tempering so well. 

The subsequent operations consist principally in 
hammering the slightly heated blades under a very 
rapid but light machine-driven hammer with a very 
small rise. This rectifies the distortions produced by 
hardness, and increases the hardness and elasticity of 



236 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

the steel. This is followed by a final adjustment of 
the blade to its right form by means of hand-hammer- 
ing. 

Wire. 

According to Tunner, piano wire is hardened in 
Worcester as follows : — After a lead bath in an iron 
pipe kept red hot, the wire is hardened in a circulating 
oil bath. It then passes to a second lead bath, which, 
liowever, is at a temperature only just above the fusion 
point, and tempers the hardened wire. 

Watch Spring's. 

An interesting machine of Kugler of Paris for hard- 
ening watch springs is described as follows by Kohn 
in Karmarsch and Heeren's technical dictionary: — 
''After the steel wire has been rolled out to the proper 
thinness it is coiled up on a cylinder, from which the 
ribbon passes through an iron pipe surrounded outside 
by fireproof material and having a rectangular section 
of about 100 mm. wide and 12 mm. high. This pipe is 
in a furnace heated with charcoal. As the steel ribbon 
slowly passes through the pipe it becomes red hot, and 
is drawn through a bath of oil and hardened. The 
heating of this bath is prevented by a constant flow of 
oil, the warm oil escaping by an overflow. On leaving 
the oil the ribbon passes between two pairs of drying 
rollers, one behind the other, which are suitably loaded 
and from which the oil floAvs back into the hardening 
bath. The band next arrives at a cast-iron plate 
heated by a fire, to temper the spring. Here it is also 
straightened by a weight, and, finally, through a pol- 
ishing apparatus consisting of six emery rollers, which 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 237 

polish both sides of the spring. The spring is finally 
wound on a reel." 

A similarly acting apparatus for hardening and 
tempering long springs is that patented by Luttger 
Brothers of Solingen. Here, however, the hardening is 
done dry, by passing the spring as it leaves the hot 
pipe between two cast-iron reservoirs filled wnth cold 
water, which harden it by their pressure and coldness. 
The reservoirs are kept cool by a constant flow of 
water. The pressuie of the uipcr reservoir on the 
spring can be regulated by a lever. 

Hollow Steels. 

The method to be follow^ed with these has been 
already described, but we will here mention an ap- 
paratus patented by Lorenz of Karlsruhe. It consists 
essentially of the following parts : — To a vertical water 
pipe with a conical valve regulated by a screw, a 
m.outhpiece is fixed below by a coupling box. The 
mouthpiece must exactly fit into the object to be 
hardened, and it is given a spheroidal shape to enable 
it to fit into various sizes. Below there is a vertical 
overflow pipe, which can be raised or lowered by a 
lever, and by a spring acting on this IcA^er is pressed 
up against the mouthpiece. This pipe has a suitable 
flange to carry the hollow steel. If the hardening is 
to be internal only, the red-hot steel is put between the 
overflow pipe and the mouthpiece,- from which the 
water then flows through it. In this it is clear that 
the stream of water must fit the bore of the steel, or 
else the supply of water must be somewhat lessened, 
so that the thinner stream may spread over the inside 
of the steel. 

If the hollow steel is to be hardened first inside and 



238 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

then outside, the overflow pipe receives a sort of cast- 
iron pan, the edge of which reaches the upper edge of 
the steel to be hardened. In this pan a small tripod is 
put for the steel to stand on. With this arrangement 
the water flowing into the pan through the hollow of 
the steel ultimately immerses it altogether. The over- 
flow from the pan is taken away through a side open- 
ing into the overflow pipe. To drive the hardening 
water close against the inner sides of the steel, the 
mouthpiece has a spindle in its centre, which spreads 
out outwards into a cone which directs the water out- 
wards. The space left by the base of the cone for the 
water to pass out can be regulated. 

If a hollow steel is to be hardened inside and out 
simultaneously, Lorenz uses an apparatus of which we 
can form an idea by supposing that a short coupling 
pipe is placed over the above-mentioned pan. This is 
connected above to the mouthpiece, which in this case 
does not rest upon the hollow steel. In this we get a 
closed chamber in which the hollow steel is placed free 
on all sides. The conical spindle sends the water both 
inside and outside at the same time, and it flows away 
by openings in the chamber. 

Curing Warped Steel. 

This operation is, if permissible, usually very diffi- 
cult, and must be conducted with the greatest care to 
be successful. It is generally done after the temper- 
ing. Objects which have only been slightly tempered 
or not at all, are made hand warm so as to slightly 
lessen their brittleness but not their hardness. They 
are then put between warm copper blocks in a screw 
press, and gradually brought to the proper shape and 
left to cool under the pressure. More strongly 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 239 

tempered objects of softer steel are quickly and gently 
hammered on the anvil with a hammer, with a very 
narrow and rounded face, which stands in the direction 
of the hammer handle. The blows are given on the 
concave side of the steel, where the contracted parts 
lie. These are extended by the hammering till the 
steel has its proper shape restored. The blows must 
fall exactly in the direction of the bending, and not 
across it. The face of the hammer must be^ if neces- 
sary, so small that the whole length of it lies closely 
on the surface when the blow is struck. If the ham- 
mer is too heavy or used with too much force, its action 
extends over the whole section of the object, and the 
warping is made worse. Besides, the steel may then 
easily be broken. 

Blue-tempered thin elastic objects, such as blades, 
may, while still warm from the tempering, be bent the 
other way. For this purpose two pegs are fixed about 
£0 mm. apart in the work bench. Dietlen, in Dingier 's 
Polytechnic Journal, recommends adjusting the warped 
steel during tempering. "Stretch the hardened article 
on a piece of iron by means of iron screws, with its 
concave side next the iron, and heat the whole slowly 
over a coal-fire. When the steel begins to be yellow, 
it may be slowly straightened by means of the screws. 
As soon as it has the desired tempering colour, it is 
cooled with water on the side that had been convex, 
and will keep its shape when the screws are removed. 
Very slight warping may be cured by heating the con- 
cave side, and then wetting the convex side." 

It hardly needs to be mentioned that only compar- 
atively thin objects, such as files and blades, can be 
cured as above if warped. Compacter objects cannot 
be straightened, and must be reliardened, after having 



240 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

been brought very slowly in a slow fire to a red heat, 
and then allowed to cool in the air or in wood ashes. 
If this does not make matters right, the piece must be 
reforged. If the heating is too quick, the steel may 
easily be cracked, and if the rehardening is done with- 
out this preliminary heating, it will probably cause 
cracking and fresh warping. 

Conclusion. 

In concluding this book, I wish to remind the read- 
ers that it has been written for their interest, and the 
author has endeavored to give all the necessary in- 
structions and illustrations of all the principal tools 
used by almost every leading trade to insure the great- 
est success in the art of steelwork or toolmaking. I 
have left nothing unwritten which I thought would be 
a help or interest to the readers, and remember, read- 
ers, I have written this book to improve your mechan- 
ical ability and ideas, hoping thereby to help and en- 
courage you to strive to reach the highest rung in the 
ladder of mechanical success. 

It is not necessary to work at blacksmithing 10 or 15 
years in order to do good work or become a first class 
toolsmith when you have this volume of information 
at hand. Readers, place a great value on your leisure 
hours, they will be sands of precious gold to you when 
spent in reading this book. Do not simply read "but 
think as you read," and the mechanic (whether young 
or old) who reads and thinks in this way will be well 
rewarded and soon rise above his peers. No doubt 
this book may be the cause of many an argument and 
some may condemn it as being untrue, but before con- 
demning it take my advice and put the instructions 
into practice, and in years to come you will often thank 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 241 

the author for bringing this information before 3'ou. 
The mechanic who reads this book without putting the 
information into practical use will remain in the same 
old rut. My brother mechanic, you will never succeed 
unless you are willing to branch out and accept new 
ideas or methods. Do not get in the habit of think- 
ing you know all about toolmaking or that no one can 
teach you anything more than what you already know, 
as the author takes second place to none in the art of 
general steelwork, yet he occasionally gets a new idea 
or a quicker method from some inferior mechanic. 
The author has written this book in order to illustrate 
the most up-to-date methods but if the reader (after 
reading) still fails to put the information into prac- 
tical use or even give the different melhods a trial, 
then he will not benefit by the reading of this book, 
and the author has failed in his attempt to instruct 
him. Bear in mind that toolwork is the very best part 
of blacksmithing and the blacksmith or tooldresser in 
any machine shop, stone yard, quarry or mine who 
happens to be a first class steelworker, holds the re- 
spect of all and his services are always in great de- 
mand, so reader why give up all your hopes of becom- 
ing a successful steelworker? Your chances are equal 
to that of the author's. He had no one to give him a 
word of encouragement. Neither had he a book as 
complete as this to help him overcome his difficulties in 
connection with steel, so reader let your determination 
be to press on and overcome every obstacle which 
stands in your way. Make use of all the brains which 
God has given you and let your ambition ever be to 
rise and take the lead. Your success is sure if you do 
your best. 

Do not be given to be always telling others what 



242 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

you can do but keep your tongue quiet and your eyes 
open and always be on the alert to gain knowledge in 
connection with your trade. If you are a first class 
mechanic your customers will judge your workman- 
ship and give you a reputation, and remember, reader, 
a good reputation is worth striving for even if you 
gain it slowly. The author well knows the worth of 
a good reputation which he has gained slowly by the 
combination of hard work, deep study, close observa- 
tion, a vast amount of experimenting and wide travel. 
Reader, the contents of this book is the author's repu- 
tation, so make sure and combine the contents of this 
book with your own practical experience. 

In drawing this book to a close, the author trusts 
and hopes that every reader (who is connected with 
steelwork) will be greatly assisted and placed on 
a foundation for future success. I have not merely 
written this book to improve your mechanical ideas 
and instruct you in the art of toolmaking, but I have 
written it for the sake of the love which I hold for my 
brother mechanics. I have placed my whole heart in 
the work in order that others may share with me in 
the joys of mechanical success. Some readers may 
think I have been rather sarcastic at times, but if I 
have been it was only in reference to a certain class 
of mechanics, in order to point out to them their 
mistakes and thereby illustrate the difference between 
the right and wrong ways and also the difference be- 
tween good and poor tools. 

My closing advice to the reader is, v/hen you are 
making tools that have a cutting edge, make sure that 
they are hardened at the right heat. Hardening steel 
at the right heat is the most important obstacle to be 
overcome in connection with the art of toolmaking, 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 243 

for no matter how good the quality of the steel may 
be or how well it is forged, the quality and success 
of a tool will always depend on the proper heat for 
hardening. Again, always remember to do your work 
to the very best of your ability, and follow closely the 
old adage, ''whatever is worth doing, is worth doing 
well," and you will soon become master of the "king 
of metals. ' ' 

THE AUTHOR. 



USEFUL FORMULAS. 

Tempering Brass. 

No. lo Brass is rendered hard by hammering or 
rolling; therefore when you make a thing of brass 
necessary to be tempered, prepare the material before 
shaping the article. Temper may be drawn from brass 
by heating it to cherry red and plunging it into water. 

To Case Harden Set Screws for Shafting. 

No. 2. Melt piece prussiate potash the size of a 
bean on spot you want hard while it is hot and plunge 
into water or linseed oil. 

To Case Harden any Particular Spot, Leaving Other 
Spot Soft. 

No» 3. Make a paste of concentrated solution of 
prussiate of potash and then coat the spot you wish 
to harden ; then expose to strong heat. When red hot, 
plunge into cold water. 

To Case Harden Cast Iron or any other Iron. 

No. 4. Three parts bichromate of potash; one-half 
part common salt. Pulverize well and mix. Heat iron 
to highest heat it will stand; then sprinkle on mix- 
ture and try well on both sides. Cool in water. 

To Case Harden Steel. 

No. 5. Use one part oxalic acid and two parts of 
pulverized common potash. Pulverize them well and 

244 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 245 

thoroughly mix. Heat to cherry red, then roll in 
mixture as you would in borax, then heat again in 
clear fire; cool in water. 

Composition to Convert the Most Impure Scrap While 
in Ladle to No. 1 Castings, 

No. 6. 8 pounds of Copperas. 
3 pounds of Zinc. 
% pound of Tin. 

Throw the above amount in every hundred pounds 
of melted iron„ 

Drilling a Larger Hole through Smaller Hole with 
Same Drill. 

No. 7. With the same drill, say you want to drill a 
% hole in piece of iron. Now you want the hole 1 in. 
deep, and 1 inch deeper at bottom and larger at bot- 
tom. To make this drill the % hole first 1 inch deep, 
use a V-shaped drill, then grind the point of same 
drill % to one side. Don't grind it smaller and for 
every % you grind the point to one side, you will 
drill the hole twice that size larger. It will drill 
shoulder where larger hole begins. 

Solution to Harden Cast or Gray Iron to Any Degree 

No. 8. 1 Pint Oil of Vitriol. 
1 Bushel of Salt. 

1 Pound of Saltpeter. 

2 Pounds of Alum.. 

% Pound of Prussic Potash. 
% Pound of Cyanide Potash. 



246 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Dissolve the whole in three gallons of rain water. 
Heat iron to cherry red and cool in solution. 

Dressing Mill Pick. 

No. 9. To dress mill picks, heat to cherry red and 
dip points while hot in a tallow before hammering. 
Then to temper them: 

2 Ounces Muriate of Ammonia. 
2 Ounces Chloride of Potash. 
2 Gallons Soft Water. 

Heat to cherry red and plunge in solution. If too 
hard add more water. 

To Harden Steel Rolls. 

No. 10. To prevent shrinkage in side and so pre- 
vent bursting take three or four hands full of soot 
and a small hand full of lime in a pail of water. Heat 
cherry red and cool off in solution. 

In tempering cast steel or any steel always use soft 
water, always dip towards the North, and tempering 
round steel, dip perpendicular. Always leave steel 
in water until cold through. 

To Prevent Steel from Springing. 

No. 11. Have some dry common soda, heat steel 
to cherry red, then lay hot steel in soda. Hot steel 
will melt the soda to a liquid. Let it remain till cooL 
Will find a good temper. 

Hammering Cast Steel. 

No. 12. We have often seen smiths spoil a chisel 
or mill pick by hammering it too cold. This will not 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 247 

spoil a thick piece of steel but will a thin piece. Better 
take another heat. 

Tempering Bitts, Blades or Knives without Drawing 
Temper. 

No. 13. 1 Ounce Pulverized Corrosive Sublimate. 
2 Ounces Sal Ammoniac. 
• Two Hands Full of Salt. 

Dissolve in six quarts soft water. Heat to cherry 
red and plunge in solution and do not draw temper. 
If too strong add more water. 

Solution to Temper Steel to Any Degree. 

No. 14. 1 Ounce of Blue Vitriol. 
1 Ounce Borax. 
1 Ounce Prussic Potash. 
1/2 Pint Salt. 

Dissolve all in one quart water, then add one gallon 
raw linseed oil and I/2 ounce pulverized charcoal. 
Heat cherry red. Cool in solution. 

Tempering, Hardening, Toughening and Restoring 

Steel. 

No. 15. This formula for compounding the cele- 
brated patented Mergess solution for tempering, tough- 
ening, converting low grade cast steel to higher grade 
and restoring burnt steel. 4 ounces of citric acid in 
one gallon boiling water, dissolve two minutes, then 
add 4 ounces of carbonate of iron, stir for a minute. 
Now let it stand till agitation stops, then add 6 ounces 
prussiate of potash, 2 ounces of saltpeter. Then make it 
into 12 gallons of soft water and stir in six pounds rock 



248 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

salt. Solution is ready. Temper same as in water. 
But for edge tools bring to proper color, heat slowly, 
dip hot steel in solution once in a while while heating. 

Tempering Steel Springs without Springing. 

No. 16. Heat to cherry red, then let it cool off it- 
self. Then coat the spring with soot that will arise 
from burning resin, then heat evenly until the soot 
disappears, then immerse in linseed oil. Will make 
fine temper. 

Tempering in Bath, Not Fire. 

No. 17. For twist drills, taps, dies, small punches 
or such articles of cast steel you wish to keep straight ; 
take as follows : Equal parts of prussiate of potash and 
common salt, put them together in an iron pot over 
fire when it gets to proper temperature. It will boil 
and become a cherry red. Put the tool in this until 
it becomes a cherry red. You may leave the tool in 
all day if you wish, for the longer the more it improves 
the steel. When you take it out cool in water or lin- 
seed oil, always in a vertical position. Do not draw. 
But for taps or dies draw to dark straw. 

To Harden Cast Iron to Cut Glass or Cutting Purposes. 

No. 18. 2 pounds Common Salt, 
1/2 pound Saltpeter, 
% pound Rock Alum, 
% ounce Salts of Tartar, 
1/4 ounce Cyanide of Potash, 
6 ounces Carbonate of Ammonia. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEEL WORKER 249 

Mix and thoroughly pulverize together. Apply this 
to surface when the metal is cherry red and plunge in 
cold, soft water. 

Tempering Round Piece Cast Steel without Springing. 

No. 19. Stir the water fast with stick. While the 
water is in a whirl plunge hot steel in center of whirl 
perpendicular. Water turning around it will keep it 
straight. 

Tempering Drills. 

No. 20. Heat to cherry red and plunge in lump of 
Beeswax and Tallow mixed. Not too much tallow or 
will make soft. 

To Temper a Thin Blade or Knife. 

No. 21. Cut a piece of paper a little larger than 
blade, then heat blade evenly, then lay the paper flat 
on water, lay blade on paper and press under to cool. 
Never mind the theory. Try it. Always dip blades to 
North. 

Remarks When Welding Cast Steel or Any Steel. 

Always weld the same way. Begin where you left 
off. Take one heat and the next heat begin where you 
left off so the dross and scales will work out. If you 
weld one end then stick the other end the dirt will 
get in center and can't get out and you can not weld 
it any way. 

Welding Cast Steel with Less Heat. 

No. 22. Mix Sal Ammonia with ten times the 
amount of Borax. Fuse well when pulverized. Now 
mix with this an equal quantity of quick lime and use 
as borax. 



250 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Welding Steel Bessemer Spring Axles and Tool Steel. 

No. 23. 15 pounds Dry Sand, 

8 ounces of Powdered Sulphate of Iron, 

8 ounces of Black Manganese, 

8 ounces Fine Salt. Use as Borax. 

Welding Oast Steel and Restoring Burnt Steel. 

No. 24. % pound Borax, 

% pound of Sal Ammonia, 
Ys pound of Prussic Potash, 
% ounce of Resin, 
% gill of Alcohol. 

Simmer these in spider over slow fire until well 
chased. Then use as Borax. 

Welding Cast Iron to Steel or Iron. It Will Weld Bet- 
ter than is Generally Known. 

No. 25. 1% pounds of Powdered Copperas, 
1 quart Fine Dry Sand, 
1 Hand Full of Salt. 

Now make the pieces hot and while heating dip 
them in mixture. Throw some on in fire. When iron 
and steel are hot and will stand without running, place 
them quickly together, rub them with piece of steel 
or old file, drawing soft parts over each other. 

Welding Cast Steel Edge Tools or Any Fine Work. 

No. 26. This is the best steel welding compound in 
use today and is known only by a few good smiths: 
Dragon blood pulverized and mixed with borax until 
the borax looks a little pink in color. Use as borax. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEEI-WORKER 251 

Welding Steel Boiler Tubes. 

No. 27. Flare long piece out, fit short piece inside 
the other neatly, then lay in fire. When hot enough 
sprinkle on welding compound. Have helper tap 
lightly on end of short piece, while you take light 
hammer and tap it lightly in fir^ turning all the time. 
Weld it all in fire. 

Repairing Plows, New Shear and Laying. 

No. 28. First take old plow, set it on level board. 
See that it measures 16 inches from floor to hitch and 
has 214 inches land. If not, while repairing bring it 
to that, and then it will run right. In laying shears 
take hammer, lay steel 2 by 5-16 and use the welding 
compound mentioned above. Don't make wing of 
shear more than 6I/2 inches wide. For new shares lay 
steel for shares on plow, make Aving 6^/2 inches wide, 
cut off on land side what you don't need. Now bend 
wing down shape of old. Lay share piece under and 
weld up. 

Stream Tempering All Heavy Tools. 

No. 29. We will take a hand hammer for example. 
Take a can or keg, make a three-eighths inch hole in 
it; then heat hammer a cherry red; then hold peen in 
slack tub and let three-eighths stream pour on center 
of face until cool enough; then let draw to a dark 
straw color. If it does not draw to right color, heat 
eye wedge put in hole until the right colors appear. 
The old way of dipping in tub cools outside too fast, 
cracks it and makes it shelly. The new way of cool- 
ing center the fastest contracts the steel and makes 
it solid, and it will never crack nor sprall off. 



252 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

Redressing and Tempering Old Anvils. 

No. 30. Heat old anvil to draw temper; let it cool 
slow, plane off face, heat face to cherry red and while 
hot throw on face a handful of prussiate potash. Then 
cool as fast as possible with a heavy stream on center 
of face. It will be as good as a new anvil. 

Oil Tempering All Heavy Bolts, Blades and Knives. 

No. 31. Heat all flat pieces, knives, blades and bitts 
on edge. If you lay them flat on fire you will spring 
them. Heat to cherry red and plunge in raw linseed 
oil. When cool scour off edge bright. Heat a heavy 
iron, lay tool on, edge up, draw to dark straw color. 

Tallow Tempering for Machinists, Tools and Tools Re- 
quiring Hard, Tough Edge. 

No. 32. Two-thirds tallow and one-third beeswax; 
add to this a little saltpeter to toughen steel. Dis- 
solve all and mix. Heat point of tool cherry red ; dip 
point of tool in solution as you would in water and 
let it draw only to a light straw color. This is a good 
thing. It improves the steel; all tools will have a 
hard, tough edge. 

Case Hardening Steel Plow Mold Boards. 

No. 33. Make a brine of salt and rain water to hold 
up an egg: add a little saltpeter. Heat steel or mold 
board cherry red, and while hot sprinkle on face prus- 
siate potash and plunge toward the north in the brine. 
Let it lay in the brine until cool through and it will 
not spring nor crack. 



TOOLSMITH AND STEELWORKER 253 

Bending Gas Pipe without Breaking. 

No. 34. Heat pipe good red heat. If heat is too 
long, cool off pipe to where you want the bend. Then 
put end of pipe in fork on anvil, and while bending 
let helper pour a small stream of water on inside of 
bend where it looks like kinking. You can bend any 
shape this way. 

Brazing with Copper or Brass. 

No. 35. Scarf the ends of pieces so they fit nice. 
Then clamp the pieces so they fit nice and can not 
slip. Then lay on fire ; put on top side the copper that 
you think is necessary, and then put on some charred 
borax or Monarch Welding Compound. Then heat iron 
until the copper melts. Take a file and keep the cop- 
per where you want it, and then lay it down and let 
cool. This way you can braze iron, steel or malleable 
iron. 

How to Weld Cast Steel with Borax. 

No. 36. Put borax in a pot on a slow fire and boil 
it until it becomes dry like dust: Stir it all the time 
it is cooking. Then use the dust. You will find it 
welds much better, as cooking it takes the sulphur 
out of it, and you will get a clear fire and a nice clean 
heat. 

How to Weld Anything Likely to Slip. 

Such as steel tires, but not good for cast steel. 
No. 37. To one pound of pulverized borax add two 
ounces of sal ammoniac. Put a little on tire cold, and 
when it gets hot it will get very sticky and hold the 
tire in place so you can handle it. When the tire gets 
hot put on more. Weld at a borax heat. 



254 THE TWENTIETH CENTUEY 

Welding or Soldering Band Saws, 

No. 38. File scarfs so they fit together nicely; then 
put a piece of silver solder between laps, or a silver 
coin will do. Then put on some muriatic acid, or some 
charred borax is just as good. Then heat a pair of 
very heavy jawed tongs ; heat to a very high heat ; hold 
laps of saw between jaws of tongs until welded. They 
weld very quick, and will not break where welded. 
Some pour water on tongs to cool them off fast. 

How to Work Self -Hardening Steel (Called Mushet 

Steel). 

No. 39. Heat to cherry red ; forge to desired shape ; 
then heat again to cherry red; lay in air to cool — the 
more air the harder it will be. To make very hard, 
hold in cold blast. 

Instructions for Tempering Pneumatic Tools. 

And for some heavy shear knives where it does not 
require too hard a temper. 

No. 40. Heat tool all over; heat very slowly, so 
it will heat through to cherry red, and plunge tool in 
linseed oil and let it lay in oil until it is cool clear 
through. This will give a good temper on any tool 
required hard all over. 



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